Be Mine
by MintChocolate5
Summary: Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels. FIN
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels

* * *

**_Faithful:  
With eye upraised his master's look to scan,  
The joy, the solace, and  
the aid of man:  
The rich man's guardian and the poor man's friend,  
The only creature faithful to the end.  
_--George Crabbe. _A dog was a man's best friend. _**

CHAPTER 1: Impulsive Buying

* * *

A dog was a man's best friend.

Mina wasn't sure she could say the same about a woman's.

"It—_peed_—on me." Mina Aino stared in horror at her brand new Gucci shoes, now ruined.

The lady who was showing her around the Humane Society, whose name Mina couldn't recall, actually smiled and glanced at the puppy with endearment. "He's just nervous, is all."

Nervous? That dog looks smugger than the cat that caught the crook, or whatever that saying was…

"Right. Why don't we just look at the, uh, cats." _A cat can protect me just as well as a dog can, _Mina tried to convince herself_. Except for the teeth, maybe, and the barking, and also, the growling. Oh Aphrodite, I hate when the girls are right. _

"Are you sure, Ms. Aino?" asked the lady, hesitantly waiting for an answer. The lady (whose name was Holly or something) was a friend of Serena's and was doing them both a favor by letting Mina choose a dog off hand. Usually a person had to be added to the waiting list in order to get an animal, especially a dog since they were so high in demand. Holly, or whatever her name was, was doing Serena a huge favor by allowing Mina to bypass all the rules.

Mina sighed. The least she could do was pick a dog after Serena had gone to all the trouble.

"No, I guess we can look at a few more," Mina said resignedly, staring down sadly at her ruined shoes which probably represented her future with a mutt. She struggled not to just leave right then and rush over to the nearest shoe store.

Holly nodded cheerfully and waved for Mina to follow her through another doorway and onward to another section of cages.

Poor things. To be locked up all day… 

"These are some of our newly acquired dogs," Holly chattered, pointing to a larger cage in the corner. "We found them abandoned on the side of the road, all lying together like they are now. The funny thing is when we tried to separate them, they howled all night until we put them back together. Weird, huh? And over here…"

The four dogs in the corner caught Mina's attention in a weird way. She stared for a moment before following Holly.

She tuned out after that, distantly studying all the rest of the dogs she was shown. With each dog Mina saw, she came up with an excuse as to why she couldn't get it.

_Way too little._

_Can't even see its face._

_WAY too big._

_Hate the eyes._

_Would get hair everywhere._

_Looks like one of the youmas we destroyed._

Ew. Just, ew.

"So?" the perky lady asked after what appeared to be the end of her monologue, "what do you think?"

_They're either dirty, hairy, whiny, or all three._ "I'm still not sure," Mina instead replied.

Holly bit her lip nervously, looking indecisive about something. "Well, not to rush you or anything, but do you think I could slip off for a second? My boyfriend promised to call at three." It was two fifty-five.

"No problem." Mina winked mischievously, knowing intimately the woes of love. Holly smiled her thanks and rushed off to her office to await her boyfriend's call. Mina only hoped the guy wouldn't disappoint the go-lucky girl.

Now alone, Mina focused her thoughts on picking a dog. It wasn't that she wanted one—it was more that she was being forced. Now that she was going off to live on her own, her parents had decided to take a more active role in her life.

_A little late for that_, she had thought bitterly at the time. After years of neglect and ignoring their child, they'd decided that now that she was fully grown to start caring.

Robert and Kristen Aino had come to the decision that they wouldn't let her live on her own unless she was well protected. A dog, boyfriend, or even living with a friend, it didn't matter, as long as it wasn't alone.

But Mina hadn't wanted that. After taking care of herself for most of her life, she wanted the true joys of independence and was determined to move into an apartment of her own and pay for her own college tuition. She had money saved from some of the modeling she'd done earlier in her childhood along with birthday and holiday money from relatives. It was enough to get through the first year if she also got a job.

Her parents had refused when she had informed them of the decision. She had scoffed at them. Honestly, she was eighteen, what could they do?

A lot, apparently.

They had connections in high places, including one at Tokyo University.

Either get protection or live at home, they had laid out to her. Or what? she challenged. They would call in a favor the Dean owed them and have Mina prohibited to live at an off campus facility, and, at the same time, have the Dean forbid her to live in the dorms since her home was so close.

She was then faced with a decision.

How far was she willing to go to defy her parents? To show them they didn't have control over her, even if they did?

So she had concurred. A dog ("Gross.") was the best she could do. Her friends had offered her a place to crash but their apartments were either too far away from campus or they already had a roommate.

A quiet growl that Mina almost missed refocused her deep sapphire eyes on the cage in the far corner.

We found them abandoned on the side of the road.

Four large dogs lazily stared at her through hooded eyes.

Mina gave a startled gasp.

Gray eyes.

Is that normal? 

The dog had vivid gray eyes that were alert and watching. Mina couldn't identify what breed the dog was, only that he (it couldn't possibly be a she, no girl looks that _mean, _dog or not) was pure white, with equally white, large teeth, and a huge body that looked like it would reach Mina's shoulders standing up.

The dog eyed her with disdain.

Mina smirked. "Who's the one in the cage?" she couldn't help taunting. Something about those eyes just made her want to…well, tease and taunt him.

The dog just gave her a disapproving frown.

Can dogs frown? 

Another mutt started yelping as his playmate bit his tail a little too hard. It drew Mina's attention to Grayeyes other roommates.

The yelping one had startling green eyes and a reddish blond coat, its bullying friend had deep blue eyes but with a pure golden blond coat that shined with apparent care.

The last dog reminded her of Lita. He (maybe, but not likely, she) watched the others with merriment and good fun. His brown fur coat looked incredibly soft, as were his sweet brown eyes.

"You're so cute!" Mina couldn't help but squeal at the dogs, a seed of something being planted in her mind.

Lita and Ami would love some company, I bet. Rei lives alone now, too, since her grandfather died…why not? 

Holly arrived back a couple minutes later, a large beaming smile telling Mina that her boyfriend had indeed remembered. "So, did you decide?" she bounced happily, the throes of love boosting her mood, not that she was an overly gloomy person to begin with.

"Yes, I think I have. I'll take them all."

* * *

While Mina was picking out a new pet, a tall and mysterious presence was watching. 

She observed patiently as the blonde girl made the decision to buy all of the dogs. Then, she seated herself in a chair that had not been there a second before and began to curse.

"All my work," she muttered, waving around a large staff in anger, "and they _still_ manage to find each other."

With a sigh, the woman got up and paced the length of the room. Heels clicked rhythmically while she thought about what her next move should be. Obviously, trying to separate them would not work, as she should have well known.

Maybe she should just kill them. That held poetic justice.

"No, no," she talked to herself aloud, a bad habit that had formed from the little contact she had with others. "The _Master_ wouldn't approve of that," she intoned sardonically.

Throwing her staff to the ground, she imprecated some more before collecting herself and deciding on a course of action.

She would simply let things play out and intervene when necessary. With that plan in mind, she took her seat again and began to watch the events of the next week play out.

At least it would be interesting.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: If you've already read this chapter, I would do so again. I added an additional scene to the end that I believe is crucial to the plot. It also gave me a chance to through in some Serena/Darien goodness. **

**Disclaimer: **(which I forgot for the first chapter) I don't own it. I am not gaining any money.

**A/N:** There are a few things I have to clarify, they aren't necessary knowledge but I think everyone would like to know. The girls are just starting college in a couple of weeks for their first year (except for Ami, that is, which will be explained more in the upcoming chapters). I'm going to be using American terminology and names because a famous quote said "always write what you know" and I know American stuff better than Japanese. Except, I like to spell Raye's name "Rei" because I love that particular spelling. So sue me. Oh, and, all the girls are 18 and Darien is 23. And, if you have any questions feel free to ask them to me _when_ you review:-) I like to think I answer most, if not all, my reviews.

**Summary**: Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. Four very human-like dogs…Sen/Gen. S/D.

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"_**A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."**_

**--Josh Billings**

CHAPTER 2: Chemical Reactions

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"You WHAT?" 

Mina squeaked in terror and ducked the oncoming object.

"Rei, calm down," Ami said tiredly, sinking into the overly comfy chair.

It was Sunday, the official meeting day when all the girls got together to gossip and catch up on each other's lives. And since college was going to begin in a couple of weeks, the girls treasured the time even more.

But Ami was not exactly thrilled with the update on Mina's life.

Nor, for that matter, were any of the other girls with the exception of Serena, who hadn't gotten such a _lovely_ surprise.

"Oh, Mina," Lita brought a hand to massage the headache her friend was bringing on. "I don't have enough time to care for a dog."

"They are so cute!" Serena squealed, petting the cute reddish-blond Golden Retriever who gave her a lick on the face for the compliment. She started making weird contortions with her face like someone would with a baby to get them to laugh.

"Stop that," Rei wrinkled her nose in revulsion and aimed an equally disgusted look at her dumb blonde friend. "They aren't cute. And they aren't staying, and that's final."

"Rei, come on! You know you want one. Just look at this cute face," Mina grabbed the nearest dog, the other blond Golden Retriever who had a simple and sleek golden blond coat. "Isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen?"

Rei looked at the mutt. What kind of stupid question was that? With it's adorable eyes, perky ears, and—"No."

"Oh, I know you well, Rei Hino, and you _do_ think that he is cute." Mina had that weird sparkle in her eyes that could only mean trouble.

Last time Rei had noted that sparkle, they had all ended up spending the night in jail.

"Really, guys," Serena tweaked the dog's nose one last time before looking up. "Having a pet isn't that difficult, and you'll probably have a lot of fun."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't get one," Lita muttered. Ami was silent, going through a variety excuses in her head. They ranged from not having enough time to being _passively allergic_ to dogs (ok, so she made that one up, but the others wouldn't know that).

"Oh please?" Mina stuck out her lower lip in a way that invoked no sympathy from any of the girls.

One of the mutts, as Rei referred to them in her head, started to whine. It wagged its blond tail and collapsed onto its hind legs in a traditional dog-sitting pose. She interpreted it as doggy talk for 'take me out now before I pee on your floor.' She glared at the offending mutt, her look promising an excruciating death if he dared to get one drop of anything on her clean floor.

He smirked at her. Then lifted one leg and proceeded to do his _outside_ business inside on her floor.

Rei gave a shriek of fury. "OUT!" she screeched. "Get out, now! All of them!"

Mina squeaked, again, and snatched the piddling evil mutt and practically threw him out the door. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she chanted, backing away from the murderous priestess. "Please don't kill me."

"I want those mutts OUT!"

"I don't think they're mutts. The brown one is a Labrador and that one," Lita gestured to the pure white dog that Mina had mentally taken to calling 'Grayeyes,' "I think he's a Siberian Husky, and the two blonds are Golden Retrievers."

"Wow," said Serena, awed by her friend's knowledge. "I would've expected Ami to know all that stuff."

Lita reddened. "I use to want a dog when I was a kid," she said softly. "But my parents, and then the orphanage, never let me. I always dreamed of what kind of dog I would get if I could. I always pictured a big, loyal Labrador."

A sniffing Serena bound over to Lita and gave her friend a patent Serena-hug. "You know you always have us."

Lita smiled affectionately at her friend.

"Then Lita can have the brown mutt and then we'll return the rest of them," Rei suggested.

"Don't be so mean," Serena cried. "They're defenseless without you."

With a pointed look towards the mess the floor, she replied, "Defenseless my ass."

"Language, please," Ami scolded, walking towards the doorway to supervise the wayward dog. She gathered the remaining three and ushered them outside before any more surprises showed up on Rei's floor.

Letting the chatter and screeches from inside the temple fade into the background, Ami stared at the dogs. Oh, but they _were_ adorable. Ami's eyes couldn't help but be led to the smaller one. He was one of the Golden Retrievers with a tingle of red to his coat and had vivid green eyes that tugged at a distant part of her.

Maybe she _could_ take him in.

Ami drew her attention back to the other dogs, who were all, weirdly enough, staring at her. They looked at her as if to say: "We do have some dignity, turn around."

Even though they were only dogs, a red tint colored her cheeks and she whispered an apology before turning around.

Then she promptly felt stupid. They were, after all, _dogs_.

Still, they must have feelings too. She would hate to be watched while she did her business.

"So, will you take one, Ami?" Mina called out, having apparently survived Rei's fury. She bounced into view, her happy go-lucky smile stretched across her face. "I just know you want green eyes over there."

Everyone turned to look at Ami, making the bluenette stutter slightly. "I-I don't perceive any reason why I couldn't," she said, before she could regret it.

Mina jumped and squealed loudly, joined shortly by Serena. "Yes! I knew you would come out to the idea."

"Around, not out, Mina." Ami corrected automatically.

She shrugged, and then turned to Lita quickly. "You have no excuse now," she smiled triumphantly. "If Ami can fit one into her schedule, you can."

Lita sighed. "But with work—" But her protests were half-hearted at best. She had, after all, always wanted a dog.

"You'll crate train him," Serena interrupted, making everyone look at her in surprise. She wasn't the one usually in possession of the extra knowledge. She noticed the looks, and correctly interpreted them. "Hey, I'm 18 now, I do know _some_thing."

"But not much," Rei added under her breath.

"Hey!"

"Fine," Lita cut in, trying to prevent a tongue war. "But not for forever. Just a little while." She didn't want to commit herself to something before she knew what she was getting herself into to.

"A week," Mina readily agreed. "If you don't like them in one week, then I'll personally take all of them back."

"One week," Lita reiterated firmly.

Rei opened her mouth. "N—"

"Rei, what can a little extra company do? He won't be that much of an extra chore and you may even learn to like him." Ami pointed out logically, wondering when she had become an advocate of this doggy surprise.

"I still don't want it."

Serena whacked Rei on the arm. "_He_ has a gender. And ears." She wrapped the one Rei had yelled at protectively in her arms and murmured comforting words. It—he—smirked at her from Serena's arms, issuing a silent challenge that, even if conveyed by a useless mutt, Rei couldn't ignore.

"Fine," she said grudgingly, "but never do anything like this again without asking us first, got it?"

"Yes, yes," the blonde replied airily. She handed out a dog to each of her friends, with the exception of Serena.

As much as Serena wanted a pet, the apartment she was living in didn't allow any animals. Mina normally would've gotten her friend one anyway if the princess hadn't received a warning that another attempt to bring in a pet would result in eviction. Yes, the future queen had been caught several times for trying to smuggle in bunnies and cats. The cats were mainly Luna and Artemis, though nobody was to sure on the details of the bunnies. Even Darien, who shared the apartment with his wife, wasn't to clear on that escapade.

Mina finished dispensing the dogs and explained to each girl what Holly ("Her name is Molly," Serena laughed. "I knew that," Mina replied.) had said to feed them.

A while later, Serena stood up. "Well, I've got to go, I don't want to be late for dinner."

"Be still my heart," Rei remarked dryly, "Serena might actually be on time for once."

Lita wagged her eyebrows. "I guess we know who's getting some." She winked at Serena.

The girl in question blushed heavily, causing all the other girls to fall into hoots of laughter.

Ami stopped giggling long enough to say, "Leave her alone, guys. She has been married for a year now, this is nothing new!"

"Maybe, but she still hasn't left the newly married stage of marriage yet, it seems," Lita smirked.

"The part with wild bunny sex?" Mina said casually, causing everyone to laugh again. Even the dogs seemed amused.

"You guys," Serena whined, "stop making fun of me."

"Stop making it so easy," Rei countered.

Serena started to stick her tongue out, but thought better of it. "Uh, whatever. I'm leaving." She went around in a circle to give everyone a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Same time next week," Mina yelled after her, receiving a wave of acknowledgment.

"I have to get going too," Ami said, checking the time on her watch.

Mina jumped up too. "So, which guy do you want?"

"How do you know they're male?"

Mina gave Ami a Look. "I'm the Goddess of Love. I know the male gender, even in dog-shape," then she leaned over and whispered in Ami's ear, "plus I _checked_ just to make sure."

Ami giggled and selected one of the Golden Retrievers, the one with a reddish tint to his coat. What really drew her to him, however, was his startling green eyes. She'd never seen a dog with such gorgeous eyes. Never had seen a person, for that matter.

"And while we're at it…" Mina easily leashed the Labrador and handed the handle silently to Lita, having heard her little confession of always wanting a Lab. The tall-framed girl couldn't deny it.

Lita took the offered leash and departed with her new roommate with a sigh and a wave to everyone.

Rei glanced at the remaining two dogs, one of them being the smart ass that had blemished her floor. "Mina," Rei asked dangerously, "which one are you leaving for me?"

"Uh, well, I've got a hair appointment I can't miss. Bye," she grabbed the white haired Husky by the leash Holly—that is, Molly— had given her (he was the biggest of all the dogs) and rushed out before Rei could process it all.

Even from three blocks away, Mina could still clearly hear:

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

* * *

_FOUR HEIRS MISSING: COINCIDENCE OR CONSPIRACY?_

_By Danielle Walters_

_Tokyo- The disappearance of four male heirs caused chaos in the upper class community last year when Kael Winters, Jedrek Hoffman, Neron Cole, and Zevin Drepp all went missing at the same time under the same mysterious circumstances. Vacationing together in the Lake Side Rivera, nobody knew they were gone until they hadn't arrived for their flights. _

_"It was normal for them to turn off their cell phones and not to have any contact with the office while on vacation," Callie Zikomo, personal assistant for Winters, says. "Because of that, we don't know if they'd been missing since day one or day ten."_

_Reportedly, the men were spotted at the local diner on the third day of the ten-day vacation. What happened after that, however, still remains a mystery. Police searches have yielded no results, and no witnesses have turned up yet. All the men are very influential, heirs to million—and billion—dollar corporations. _

_A secretary for Neron Cole who chooses to remain anonymous comments, _

"_There are a lot of people who are going to benefit from their disappearances."_

_And so it is true. Each man has a front seat in the Tokyo stock-mar _

"I'm home, honey!" a voice startled Darien Shields out of his concentration in the local newspaper. The slamming of the front door followed. Darien carefully set down the paper, ignoring the weird feeling of anticipation he had. He'd been following the story for the past year, unable to explain what he felt so curious about.

But he'd have to think about it later because more important things were about to happen.

Such as when his gorgeous, vivacious wife bound in and greeted him with a very nice, very long kiss. They broke apart sometime later, with Serena having found her way onto his lap.

"What are you reading?" she snuggled into his warmth. "And more importantly, what's for dinner?"

Darien laughed. Serena and food would never change. "I was reading about those four heirs that had disappeared a year ago." He started to press soft kisses to her forehead, trailing his way down. "Still nothing found about them."

Serena silently wondered how he could carry on a conversation while doing…_things_. It was one of many characteristics about him that she loved. Even if it did get annoying at times when she just wanted him to shut up and kiss her.

"And, uh, dinner?" she practically moaned. "I hope I'm not late."

Darien smirked. "Not late today. And I was thinking you, me, and some of that whipped cream.

"I like the sound of _that_," Serena said coyly, wrapping her arms around him. So maybe the girls had been right about her not leaving the newlywed stage of marriage yet. It wasn't _such_ a bad thing.

Placing the newspaper down on the table, Darien was only thinking about one thing. His arms were filled with a delicious appetizer and he could hardly wait to feast.

Any nagging feelings Darien had would just have to wait.

* * *

**Author's End Note:** So, everything is starting to get clearer. With the added bonus of some S/D goodness. Let me just say, all is not what it seems (obviously). Anyway, reviews would be very much appreciated. They motivate me to write longer chapters. So just take a second to motivate! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **We learn more about Lita. See the humorous encounters between Rei and her pup. Not to mention names are revealed. This definitely is not my favorite chapter though and is more of an intro to all the personalities. There isn't a lot of conflict and action until chapter five or six. But, hey, it's fun to read! Enjoy, folks. Oh yes, and sorry for the lack of proper dividers. document formatter was working incorrectly and refused to be kind and grant me a chapter breaker. Grhhh, so I resorted to using the old fashioned way of numbers. How life is contrary.

**Summary**: Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. Four very human-like dogs…Sen/Gen. S/D.

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"_**When a dog pees on your floor, it's usually a sign of affection..."**_

**-Louise Blake**

CHAPTER 3; Living Arrangements, Part 1

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Lita reached her apartment just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. She made quick work of the lock and slipped inside with her new dog.

While she sighed tiredly at the small, dingy place called home, her new companion went to work immediately sniffing the entire apartment and leaving no crook or cranny left un-smelled. Lita watched with interest for a minute before shaking her head and going into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Yes, she had always wanted a pet dog, but that had been before, when she was younger and naïve. She felt jaded now, almost unworthy of having the unwavering loyalty of a dog. She was use to the quiet, uncomplicated life with her friends being her family and no Sailor business to worry about anymore. It was strange now to have another creature living with her when she'd only had herself as a companion for so long.

And what would she do with him tomorrow when she had to go to work?

For the entire year she had worked at Riverside Bistro as an assistant cook and had gained an immense amount of experience. The manager had taken notice of her when the head cook had come down with the stomach flu and unexpectedly had been unable to come in. She'd taken over all the cooking and had produced everything to its highest quality, gaining the attention of the manager, who'd been mightily relieved and impressed. So impressed, that he had called up the owner of Riverside and arranged for her to take classes at the local community college. In two years, he'd explained to her, she would have enough experience to run a restaurant _and_ cook for one.

Lita was elated. Financially, she hadn't the money to pay for any type of college while paying for all her other expenses. But with the financial support of the Riverside owner, he would pay for all her classes and she would only have to work part-time. The agreement was that she would then run the new restaurant he planned to open in three years time. It was a dream come true.

But back to the point. What would she do with her new pet while at work? Thinking about it for a while, she finally came to the decision to let him roam around the house for a day and see what happens after that. She really didn't want to put him in a crate.

The usual silence of her thoughts was broken by the light clattering of paws and frequent sniffs.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you?" she asked the inquisitive dog. The brown-furred brown-eyed dog was still intently searching around. For what was anyone's guess.

While humming to herself, a new thought occurred to her.

"What am I going to name you?"

Calling the dog 'it' all the time would fast grow old.

By now the dog had finished its search and was positioned in the ideal location of far enough from her work area, but in a relatively isolated corner where he'd be out of the way.

Brown eyes stared intelligently back at her.

"How about…Butch?"

He barked in what could only be described as disgust. Not having a great knowledge on canines because she had never owned one, Lita didn't know if such emotion was normal or not.

"Tiger?"

A growl.

"Alec?"

Snarl.

"Hm. You look like a big brown furball to me. There has to be some appropriate name." She thought for a minute.

"I know! Teddy! You remind me of a big teddy bear. Oh, it's so perfect," Lita beamed proudly.

Teddy was not so impressed and seemed disgusted with her naming skills. Tough luck. She was the one with vocal cords, so he'd have to deal.

Lita finally finished with her dinner and set to work on getting out her battered silverware and setting her table. Theoretically, she could have eaten out of the pan and no one would be the wiser. But Lita always felt that, as poor as she was currently, she had class. So every night without fail, she set the table and made everything look as presentable as possible.

"You don't care if I live in the dumps of Tokyo, do you? As long as I feed you, you're happy, right Teddy?" She grinned at Teddy, putting some of the leftover pork in a silver bowl for him to eat. It was nice to have company that she didn't have to impress. Dogs were known to love their owners, despite all other factors. It was a blessing and a curse.

As the night wore on, Lita was hard-pressed to find any faults with Teddy. He whined at her front door if he needed to go out, not making a mess on the floor like most dogs would. When she had poured him his food, not an aggressive movement was made on his part; no, he had waited quietly and calmly for her to prepare his bowl and set it down. Not only that, but he genuinely seemed to enjoy the meal Lita had prepared for him.

After dinner and dishes, she routinely sat on her second-hand couch and read through some cookbooks. When that time came, Teddy laid his head on her legs and was content just to snuggle up to her while she read.

To put it quite simply, she fell in love with him.

After an hour of reading had passed, she was barely able to keep her eyes open. Getting up, Lita turned the dead bolt and flicked the switches to all the lights off. She was tucked into bed moments later.

She turned on her side and stared at Teddy. He was standing adjacent to her bed, unnervingly focused on her.

She sighed. She knew _exactly_ what that look meant.

"Fine, get in," she scooted over to make room for the big dog and affectionately smoothed his fur before nestling into his side. He licked her face and settled his head down between her shoulder and neck.

"Night," she whispered, before falling into a deep sleep.

She didn't see that Teddy stayed awake a lot longer.

She didn't see that brown eyes never looked away.

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Rei woke up the next day to something cold and wet.

Confused, she sat up fast in one smooth motion.

Oh.

Yeah.

Mina. Was. Going. To. Die.

Especially since the stupid mutt had woken her up—she glanced at the clock—an entire thirty minutes before her alarm was scheduled to go off.

The mutt stood off to the side, looking pleased with himself. And hadn't she locked him out last night? Maybe half-heartedly hoping he'd run away?

The door to her room stood wide open, exposing her bedroom for the world to see. Guess he didn't motor off. And he was apparently smart enough to figure out how to get in.

That just made her dislike the mutt even more.

"Thanks a lot, Mina," she muttered, pulling back the bed covers and getting up to start her daily routine…

…and promptly stepped in something disgusting.

"Oh gross!" she squealed in a rather pig-like manner that would have Serena making fun of her for months if she'd been there to witness it.

Blondie barked at her, and Rei saw red.

"Ergh!" she screeched, reaching around for every available object that she could hurl at the stupid, arrogant, ugly, _horrible_ mutt.

The dog gracefully dodged, and shot her what could be realistically compared to a human grin.

"I loathe you." With those words, she stood up (gingerly dodging the smelly mess on the floor again) and stormed out of her own room.

It ended up being a good thing that Rei had gotten up early, not that she'd ever admit that, because she had an abnormally large amount of chores to complete that day. Having the stupid mutt around didn't help, either.

Getting dressed had been a bit of a challenge, to start out with. The stupid thing kept plowing into her legs, which knocked her unsteady, which caused bruises to form on her butt when it met the floor. Rei started to forget what it felt like not to glare.

Oh, but she did end up getting a little revenge.

"That's it!" she screeched, after being plowed down for the _third_ time. "If you don't like answering to 'mutt,' "Rei didn't believe it was coincidence that he kept knocking her over when she called him a 'mutt' or 'thing,' "then I'll just have to name you."

A purely evil expression overtook her face.

The blue-eyed Retriever thought that maybe, for once in his life, he'd gone too far. He started to make his way demurely out the door, deciding he had annoyed her enough for the day.

Rei wasn't fooled.

"No," she slammed the door, conveniently the only exit. "I think we need to come up with an appropriate name. Hmmm…" she trailed off in mock thought.

The dog distantly wondered how bad a beating his manliness was going to take.

Rei knew that the dog understood what she was saying. How, she didn't know. The looks he'd been giving her all morning were too intelligent. Too mischievous. When she had initially begun to undress, he had taken a seat and watched her keenly. No dogs, male or no, watch someone with that much undisguised interest. It made her feel downright uncomfortable, which had invoked her to yell. Hence started the plowing.

She'd have to ask the Fire later on about that.

As for now, she had a name to think of.

"I think that…_Daisy_ would be a suitable name. You're very bright and cheerful, right? Well, there you go, _Daisy_. A bright and cheerful name," Rei smirked.

The male dog now termed Daisy winced. It was worse than he had anticipated. What a cruel and unusual punishment. The intelligent mind inside of _Daisy_ prayed and bargained for his soul that the other guy dogs wouldn't _ever _hear about this.

"Now GET OUT!"

The male named Daisy didn't need to be told twice. His new owner was scary when mad. He mentally grinned. Life was about to get really interesting for this little spit fire.

8888888

**End Note**: Haha. _Sigh_. Poor Daisy. Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and just taking a quick second to tell me they are enjoying the story. Please don't stop!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **This story really veered off the course I was going to originally take it. The characters just basically wrote themselves. Sorry for the slight delay, though. School started last Thursday (eww) and I've been swamped with the task of keeping up with three AP classes (which effectively sucks) after only three days of school. What was I seriously thinking? So, the point: writing is going to be a little slower with all my other work and activities. But no worries, I definitely going to continue this story until the end! That's enough for now.

**Summary**: Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. Four very human-like dogs…Sen/Gen. S/D.

* * *

_**Every step that you take  
Could be your biggest mistake  
It could bend or it could break  
That's the risk that you take**_

**What If, Coldplay**

CHAPTER 4; Living Arrangements, Part 2

* * *

"Jelly-Belly, come here, my precious pumpkin," Mina cooed to her gorgeous new pet. For the life of her, she couldn't remember why she had ever been hesitant about getting a dog.

Sure, her parents had manipulated her.

Yes, Artemis now refused to live with her.

And maybe she had never liked dogs to begin with.

But all those issues seemed to disappear when the one light in the tunnel presented itself:

She got to name him!

Mina had instantly known, too, the name that she'd choose. She had almost named Artemis the exact same thing. Well, before he opened his mouth and soundly told her off for even dirtying his ears with such an atrocious name.

It wasn't that bad.

Except that now her Jelly-Belly refused to move from where he was suicidally perched on her balcony.

"Please don't jump," Mina pleaded with JB (Jelly-Belly's cute nickname). "My parents will freak out and think I'm some kind of suicidal-inducing dog killer." And she couldn't afford to direct more attention to herself. Oh, and maybe JB had grown on her just a little.

With his disapproving frowns, heated glares, sulking moods, Mina couldn't help but love the poor thing. Who wouldn't?

The look JB gave her indicated he thought she _was_ a suicide-inducing dog murderer. It also said: _What are you THINKING naming me that? Do you even think at all?_

Although JB was not normally known for dramatic statements, he couldn't think of a better time to begin. Death was almost preferred to what his new deranged owner had in store for him.

His first impression of Mina Aino was that she was an A-class bimbo.

Adopting four dogs, all of whom had done their best not to be adopted (he guessed that she had mistaken their howls and growls for…excitement?). Then she had given them away to her friends, effectively separating the group. Even worse, she'd picked him as her new toy of the week.

Fleeing from her friend's temple with him in tow was unexpected. She seemed more the type to want a hyper Golden Retriever, not a solemn and protective Siberian Husky.

The rest of that night he had watched her. What he had learned shocked him.

His earlier impression was incorrect and made with little evidence.

He now knew for fact that Mina Aino _was a freaking lunatic._

She didn't walk. She danced or skipped or spun or any number of energy-wasting movements.

She didn't talk. She shouted or exclaimed or whispered or any other type of dramatic speaking.

She didn't think. She was impulsive and daring and loved to have a good time without thinking of the later coincidences.

All this he had gleamed in the little time he had spent with her.

She also smiled too much. If he weren't a dog…but, no, he wouldn't think about that right now.

The point being that everything about Mina Aino drove him absolutely insane. He just couldn't figure her out.

That night, Mina had instructed him (she liked to chatter to him like he was a person. Not uncommon, but most appropriate in his case) to sleep on carpet and if he had to use to the facilities, it was through that door over there.

It was a good thing he wasn't exactly a canine because her room would have magically turned into his personal bathroom if it were so.

But he was accepting and very resigned to his current situation, and slept on the carpet. As for the bathroom, he would just hold it until he could get outside. As much as his mind was not-so-canine, his body was.

It seemed that the more time he spent with her, the more it seemed like all of Mina's personality defects (as he referred to them) held the solo purpose of annoying him.

Some examples:

He had awakened this morning to find Mina singing off-key to herself. She was grinning madly at nothing at all, twirling around and skipping. He just didn't understand it. What made this girl so happy that she just sung for the heck of it?

He had never met someone like her. No one with as much purity and honesty who didn't seem to have a deceitful bone in her body.

And it was eating away at him. She must have some sort of womanly downfall. Maybe she had lost count of the notches on her bedpost (this made his heart clench for some unknown reason), or maybe she was a con-artist, or didn't help old ladies cross the street or didn't pay her bills on time (maybe a little grasping at straws here). She must have something impure about her. Something that could put in the category of "like every other woman" he'd met.

Then she had done one thing to him that no other woman had been able to get away with.

She had given him a "pet" name, but in the completely literal sense.

Sure, some of his women had given him little pet names that he had immediately put an end to, but this was different. This time he couldn't speak up and tell her, in no uncertain terms, that he would not be called such a vile name.

He'd thought that after a year, he would be able to handle change. Especially since the stupid name was so...unimportant in actuality. Not something he would normally get so worked up about.

The crushing reality of his situation, even if he only had to deal with it for a little while longer, came slamming in around him with the announcement of this new "pet" name.

"Jelly-Belly. Isn't that what you've always wanted to be called?" Mina had been brushing his coat (much to his embarrassment) and fussing all over him.

With just the four syllables of that new name, his usual stoic behavior had been destroyed and emotion had overwhelmed him. Never had he felt so much. Never had he let loose and just let it go.

He had howled. Barked. Growled. Anything to get the ditz to realize he would not be degraded in that way after everything he had went through. But being the crazy, unstable girl she was, she again thought his behavior was a sign of his excitement at the name.

He hadn't really given much thought to his dramatics. Just that he had to get away. Thus he ended up on the balcony, not really knowing what to do now. Melodrama was really not his thing.

Mina had assumed the worse possibility, too. That he was going to jump off the balcony, or some shit like that. He was a DOG. Didn't that girl understand that dogs weren't supposed to think like that? Even if _he_ might think like that _dogs_ weren't supposed to.

And Mina had acted as if a dog silently threatening to jump off a three-story balcony was the norm. She stood adjacent to him, pleading with him not jump.

If his emotions weren't so shattered he might have found her antics amusing.

"I'll give you an allowance," she implored to him, obviously thinking money was somehow useful to him in this state.

He snarled from his position on the railing, mentally trying to communicate that all he wanted was to be _human_ again. Oh, and for a change of name, please.

A.K.A.: Just leave me alone.

Mina apparently didn't know the meaning of the word alone. "How about a large, juicy steak?"

Tempting, maybe, but no.

"A new pair of shoes? That always makes me feel better and un-suicidal."

A new pair of shoes, what the hell would he do with those?

Mina was bouncing slightly by now, a sure sign that she was getting impatient. He felt a reluctant grin about to steal over his face and firmly squashed it. It was_ not cute_ the way he was already familiar with her mannerisms.

"How about a cat to play with? I know this one furball that you'd have a lot of fun chasing."

BARK

"Fine," Mina huffed, annoyed, "be stubborn and unrealistic. But just know that I am not going to reward such bad behavior. In fact..." A gleam entered her baby-blues that he was fast learning to highly fear in his powerless form.

Can't a guy (uh, dog) just have breakdowns once in a while without being smothered? From the looks of it, Mina was about to do something stupid.

She didn't disappoint. Taking a seat on the railing she swung her feet over so that they were dangling closer to the depths below. "If you are going to jump, then I am too," she declared.

_Unbelievable_.

The words_ till death do we part_ take on a whole new meaning with Mina as your owner.

"Another minute," Mina sighed dramatically, patience gone out on an extended vacation for life. "I should probably be thinking of my last words right about now. Something memorable and courageous like: 'The afterlife is the next greatest adventure.'"

JB could not stand her nonsense any longer and finally gave up completely, jumping off the wide and flat railing onto the balcony.

"See?" Mina said to nobody in particular. "That wasn't so bad." She jumped off the railing (he breathed a small sigh of relief), skipping back inside like nothing of the past exchange had occurred.

The phone rang. Mina ran to go answer it.

The fog in his head was now starting to clear. The emotions swirling in every direction were settling in their proper places once more. JB was mortified after a moment of reflection. What an embarrassing way to lose control like that! But the name almost justified it. Almost.

JB heard Mina pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

He listened for a second, wondering who would voluntarily be friends with this girl. A mean thing to think, but no one had ever accused him of being nice.

There was a silence for a couple of moments.

"Yes, I did…a Siberian Husky…do I have to?...alright, fine, give me thirty minutes…whatever, bye," she hung up on that note.

"Jellllllly-Bellllly," she sang, running full speed into the room, "it's time to meet the parents!"

Her stance screamed of cheerfulness but her eyes told the true story on this subject; bitter and resentful.

Weirdly enough, it was a look JB wanted to erase from those glowing blue eyes of hers.

"C'mon," she gesticulated wildly, grabbing a rope which coincidentally was his leash.

Er, Mina and anything that could potentially be used as a weapon were not a good combination, he knew instinctively. Probably part one of those handy dandy dog senses.

He hoped someone had the foresight to rid the apartment of any knives.

No, not hoped.

Prayed.

Before he could think to move away from her, she expertly handled the rope/leash and had him ready to go in a second.

Maybe she wasn't so bad.

"Jelly-Belly didn't know how to usssseeee the telly….ohhhhh…telly…it was so smelly?...the smelly grelly telly…"

And she sang like that for the rest of the trek. On and on and on.

_Wasn't so bad my smelly dog ass._ Someone should really have shot him so he wouldn't have spoken so soon.

* * *

The biggest obstacle Ami ended up facing in light of her new pet was the one problem she hadn't anticipated; her roommate.

It had been surprisingly easy to convince the Dean to let her keep Hermes (as she had taken to calling him). He had seemed almost eager in agreeing, assuring her that the University would do everything possible to make her stay comfortable.

Which sounded like she was staying at a hotel and not in a college dormitory.

But, no, she had been attending Tokyo University for two years now, having graduated early at sixteen. Now, eighteen, she would graduate (early, again) next year and hopefully get into medical school and achieve her dream of becoming a respected doctor.

But that would come later. Right now she had other things to worry about than passing her MCATs. Like, for instance, the bigger obstacle than convincing the Dean to let Hermes stay.

Convincing her roommate.

Silvia Brookes was someone Ami had not considered when agreeing to Mina's crazy "gift."

Ami should've known better.

Silvia had never liked Ami. From the moment the two had been introduced, it was instant friction. Subtle remarks about having no social life followed by comments about grades. For a long time, Ami's black-haired roommate had believed that Ami had been failing because the bluenette had never volunteered information on her grades.

When she had learned differently—that Ami was in fact top of their class and two years younger than everyone else—she had taken the insulting to a new level. Silvia had no qualms about getting personal. They ranged from attacks on her falsely presumed financial "situation" (which were absurdly incorrect, since her mother was a highly reveled surgeon) to cuts about her lack-of dating.

It hadn't really bothered Ami. Even though Lita often had offered to kick the girl's ass from here to Timbuktu, Ami knew the worse thing to do was to take the defense. So she pretended that Silvia's insults were water that slid off her body, harmless and only vaguely penetrating. The girls had urged her to switch roommates but Ami saw no need to expose anyone else to Silvia's behavior when Ami herself could deal with it just fine.

Maybe she should have listened to her friends.

"I refuse, and am utterly repulsed you would think I would agree, to house that _filthy_ mongrel!" Silvia, initially sitting on the loveseat, was now standing with hands-on-hips, glaring the hottest glare she could muster. Which, if put on a scale where Rei's glares were the hottest and Ami's the coldest, would be a pathetic little dying ember. Silvia really needed a more effective glare, especially with an attitude like hers.

"Silvia," Ami chastised softly. Hermes had seated himself slightly in front of Ami and his eyes were intently focused on the opposing girl.

"Oh, don't give me that shit," the black haired girl snapped. "You should have asked me first! I am living here too and therefore you must get my permission before bringing disgusting creatures to the dorms. Does the Dean even know?" A pure calculating smile.

"Yes, I cleared it by him already. He has given me his consent."

"Of course he'd given his _golden girl_ consent. But tell me something Ami, what did you give him? A bl—"

A growl.

Silvia let out a melodramatic shriek.

Ami counted to ten like Lita used to do when a particularly jerky guy was hitting on them. She clenched her fists also, like Lita had shown her, so the impulse to thrash out was not as strong.

"Let's compromise," Ami said after a moment of gathering her composure. She glanced down briefly at Hermes and was impressed by his unruffled behavior (with the exception of interrupting what was sure to be a very inappropriate comment).

"I don't want to—"

"You concur to allow Hermes—that's _his_ name, by the way—to live here, or I get a new roommate," Ami's tone was cool, her face collected.

Silvia snorted. "So get a new roommate, good riddance to bad trash. I'd prefer if you could leave by tomorrow." That was Silvia's problem. She assumed too much.

Hermes let a slight cough sound that, given the context, was probably a bark of laughter.

"You misunderstood me. I would request that _you_ be transferred to a different room. And given my status, I'd probably be granted my request." Ami hated to use her intelligence and status at the University against anyone, but she did feel justified using it now. Silvia was extremely lucky in the first place that she had been assigned to room with Ami. The blunette had been given a spacious room with a gorgeous view.

"Ah...but…you can't…"

"I assure you, I can."

Silvia looked like she was on the edge of a breakdown and Ami felt her tough exterior softening. She didn't want to make anyone feel bad, regardless of how mean they were. But…honestly, Silvia deserved a lesson in humility.

"FINE," Silvia yelled, angry at losing. She stomped her foot once and whirled around to get some privacy in her room. The slamming of the door echoed behind her.

"Look's like we win," Ami whispered to Hermes, glad for once to have someone to talk to at the University dorms. Due to reputation of being a genius and her natural shyness, people tended to steer clear of her.

Hermes just stared at her with those intelligent eyes of his and Ami blushed. Why, she wasn't sure. She just knew that those eyes could invoke a lot of different emotions in her.

Distantly, a chiming noise sounded. Ami realized a second later that it was her cell phone.

She fumbled with her purse and managed to snap the phone open before the person hung up. "Hello?"

"Ami, I've found something out about those dogs. Get over to the temple immediately."

Ami shook her head unconsciously. Hermes had behaved reasonably all of last night and today. There was no evidence to say anything wrong with him; all the facts were pointing to the contrary, actually. "What is it?" Ami asked, gripped with a fierce desire to be reassured that Rei was just acting up because she hadn't wanted her dog. She might've convinced herself to that truth if she hadn't known that Rei was no one for major theatrics. Especially concerning danger.

"It's nothing to your immediate danger. Just get over here!" Rei hung up.

Weird.

Ami turned her head slowly to stare at Hermes.

"You…"

Hermes waited expectantly for her to continue, and Ami instinctively knew that no dog could look _that_ human without actually being one.

"We have to go," she said without finishing. She decided to just not think about it until she could talk to Rei first hand about what the problem was.

So she walked down the hallway, the stairs, on the sidewalk, to the temple, and on.

Hermes never left her side.

* * *

End Note: Yes, folks nine pages! Yay! Longer chapters, just like y'all requested. So reward my extreme generosity. I accept cash and debit but if you can't afford that, reviews would be nice too. Hope to hear from you all soon! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Here this is. I know it took a really, really long time. But with a full schedule, three AP classes, and being involved in ten clubs (which a friend and I counted the other day, fyi) I've had little time. So I apologize and hope you enjoy! Thanks to all my reviewers who stuck with me and badgered me to update. This is for you!

**Summary**: Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. Four very human-like dogs…Sen/Gen. S/D.

* * *

"_**Not a shred of evidence exists in the favor of the idea that life is serious."**_

**Brendan Gill**

CHAPTER 5; An Inkling of a Suspicion

* * *

When Lita got home from school and work that evening, she was amazed to find that ten messages were waiting on her answering machine. Below, Teddy was sitting at the table that held the machine. He gave her an annoyed glance when she hit the 'play' button. She thought it was adorable. 

"Don't worry, I'll take you out in a minute, I just want to see who called me ten times. You can hold it that long, right?"

Teddy barked a sarcastic 'yes,' at least that was what it sounded like to her ears.

Voices started from the machine.

"Lita, this is Rei. There is something I've found out. Get to the Temple as soon as you can." BEEP

Teddy let out an irritated growl at the machine. Lita wondered then how many of the ten messages were from Rei.

The second message began to play. "Lita, where are you? This is really important! Get over here." BEEP

A third started. "Temple. Now." BEEP

Lita was getting a little panicked. Rei was never one to be largely dramatic (they left that job to Serena and Mina). And if Rei had forgotten that she worked today, then something big must be up.

Fourth message, this time a softer voice spoke.

"Hello, this is Ami calling. I'm aware that you're at work and immediately returned home to three messages Rei left informing you of an emergency. Do not panic. Rei was over-exaggerating (a faint "I was not!" could be heard from the background), she simply found out that the dogs are, to paraphrase, Old Souls, which is easily mistaken for a number of various, uh, _conditions_…" Ami's melodic soft voice was cut off by the BEEP of the machine.

Lita chuckled with a relieved soft of laugh. Teddy let out another whine, but Lita was too happy that there was no emergency to respond. So Rei _was_ being a little dramatic for once. Last she had heard, Rei was having a few problems with her new dog. Hm. Maybe stress was the problem.

BARK

"Just let me finish?" Lita pulled up a chair to listen to the rest of the messages. Two from Mina and Serena and another three from Ami, the former two were mostly chattering about how worked up Rei was, and the latter explaining in great tedious detail what an Old Soul was.

Basically, what Ami could've just said, an Old Soul was someone (human or animal) who'd been reincarnated for at least five generations. All that meant was they were more empathetic and sometimes got major cases of deja-vu. They also had a weird effect on Rei's Great Fire— or whatever high status name her friend gave to it— and caused the Fire to read them as 'different.'

The point being that Rei had gotten herself worked up for nothing.

Serena would never let her live that down.

Once all the messages had ended, Lita pressed the delete-all button. Teddy was, by now, pacing around the room in the classic 'IhavetogoIhavetogo' dance.

Lita snickered. "C'mon Ted, let's go," she opened the door and swore he practically made a sonic boom in his rush. Before she could blink, he was around the corner.

Her apartment building was arranged thusly: there were four stories with roughly sixteen rooms on each floor. The actual apartments weren't that nice, but they all mostly had a balcony and the view was spectacular.

Lita lived on the second floor and so she had to room down a flight of stairs with Teddy before actually reaching some bathroom-usable land.

By the time Lita managed to reach Teddy, he was already finished, seated the front door of the building and awaiting his mistress. She didn't know whether to be pleased or suspicious about that. Sometimes that confounded dog was too damn smart.

"All right then," Lita grinned her companion. "What do you say I cook us some dinner?" an excited bark was close enough to a 'yes' for her.

It was that moment that Lita realized how attached, in a very short amount of time, she had become to Teddy. Though it was only a few days, it felt like a lifetime. There just seemed to be a bond between them that she could not deny. The feeling was strange; almost as if she knew him…

Teddy scratched the door, throwing her an exasperated look. No, Teddy was just a simple dog, nothing remarkable about him. She was just over-analyzing.

Yes, he was just a simple dog.

* * *

Mina could not remember a time she had laughed so hard. 

"That was so," wheeze, "funny…hahahaha." Tears were streaming down the blonde's face, and JB hoped half-heartedly that she would drown in them.

Oh. Wait. There might be a small, tiny, slim chance that he would then be given to the other, even more insane, friend of Mina's. That girl was scary.

JB threw _Daisy_ a sympathetic look. Well, it was more of a I'm-so-glad-I'm-not-you look, but it was as close to sympathy as JB got. Hermes, who was almost asleep in the corner, looked content. He was happy to just ignore his whining friends for the time being.

BARK (Daisy)

"_Only five more days._"

BARK (JB)

"_Five more days in hell_."

If JB was so inclined, he would have been a nice friend and told Daisy what his full name was. Maybe lessened the embarrassment of such a crass, disgusting name.

He was not inclined, nor a nice friend. The only thoughts running through his head were how to get away from the insane giggling girls. He could see from Daisy's expression that he was thinking the same.

BARK _"How can you stand her?" _

JB had a quick answer for that. BARK _"I can't."_ But that was almost a lie. He almost found her antics amusing, almost wished he was not a dog…

Just five more days…

Rei felt her cheeks light up slightly at the ribbing her friends were giving her. Maybe she had been a little over dramatic.

"You should have heard yourself!" Serena howled with laughter.

Maybe a lot.

"Shut-up," she retorted weakly. Daisy (Rei had a mental giggle) was seated next to Mina's dog JB and they were barking at each other every so often. The mixture of barking, hysterical shrieking, and shrill laughter (Serena) was quickly amounting to a very ticking headache.

Deciding to alleviate one of the three problems, she strode over to Daisy and pointed at the door.

"Out," she commanded firmly.

Daisy turned.

Then he crouched and jumped onto her favorite chair, scratching and turning to get comfortable.

Rei furiously made a grab…

…and touched thin air.

BARK

"Ergh!" Rei shouted again, about to tear her hair out.

"Calm down, Rei," Serena laughed, watching as Daisy bound out the door and run off somewhere, JB slowly going to follow.

"So, how do you like Daisy?" Mina was seated on the loveseat, energetically tapping her feet. She looked to Rei with eager curiosity.

Rei flippantly waved towards the door. "He's a pain in the ass," she explained plainly.

Mina fixed her face with a knowing grin. "You adore him that much, huh?"

Raising sarcastic eyebrows, the priestess replied, "Madly, truly, deeply."

"I did not detect quite as much sarcasm as usual. Sounds to me like you're softening towards him."

"_Mina_."

"Madly, truly, _deeeeeeeeply_," Mina imitated in a high pitched voice that sounded absolutely nothing like Rei's.

Ami rolled her eyes.

When Rei proceeded to mutter something incoherent and turn away; Serena's eyes lit up.

"I think you do like him," she announced.

"And I think the color of your hair reflects how much is in your head, you stupid blondes," Rei snapped a little too defensively.

"I wonder if he likes you back," Mina mused. "I'm going to find out!"

Before Rei could tell her that dogs could not talk nor understand human languages fully, Mina was already running outside to fetch Daisy.

"Ami, why haven't we had her committed yet?"

Ami, sitting in the corner and minding her own business with a favorite book of hers, replied with great insight, "I don't think they would accept her."

Ah. That made perfect sense. Probably the only thing concerning Mina that did.

"I'm back," Mina sang, dragging a very reluctant Daisy back with her. Both of them were covered in mud, with scratches lining their (well, mostly Daisy's) body. All Rei could do was stare. She was sure the other girls were doing the same.

"What happened?" Serena voiced the question that was on the tips of all their tongues.

"I…" Mina trailed off for a second to pull the struggling Daisy back inside. Tug and pull. Tug and pull. Their fighting had a rhythm.

"Mina! Daisy!" Rei scolded both, not sure which one was the victim. More than likely Mina was the bully in this situation. Well, in most situations.

Mina got one last low blow and turned a guilty smile to the other girls. "Just got a little carried away," she muttered. JB snorted.

"What happened?" Rei demanded.

Mina sheepishly looked down. "I went out to get him and he was digging a hole in the cherry blossoms," this revelation earned Daisy a look that promised vengeance, "so I grabbed him and he sort of leaped over me but I held on, so we ended up tumbling together in the pile of dirt _your_ dog so graciously dug up."

Serena fell back on to the couch in a fit of giggles.

Mina continued after clearing her throat pointedly, and turned to address Daisy. "My real purpose of bringing you here," she told him, "was to ask you this: do you like Rei?"

All the girls collectively rolled their eyes.

"Mina," Ami started, "he's a dog, and he does not understand you."

"What do you mean? Of course he does. Look at his eyes," she roughly pulled Daisy over and, with great exaggeration, peeled back his eye lids so his eyes were widened and exposed.

"Stop that! You're hurting him!" Serena shouted, leaping off the couch to kneel next to Daisy. "Oh, poor baby," she cooed after shooing Mina's hands away. "Let me have a look at those gorgeous eyes."

"He's going to snap at you," Rei warned in a bored tone.

"Nonsense," the pigtailed blonde said cheerfully.

Serena went to give him a hug (she understood what it was like to put up with Rei) but at the last second, he yanked back and snapped his jaw at her.

"Hey!" she said, offended. "I was on your side."

He barked.

Serena huffed, and turned away. "I don't want to see your stupid eyes anyway," she immaturely pouted.

"Grow-up, meatball head."

"Rei!"

"Mina," Rei, deciding to be the mature one for once and not start a tongue war, said, "what the hell are you yammering about with the eyes?"

"You know how a person's eyes are the doors to their souls?"

Hermes, from his immobile position, let out a whine. "Windows, it's windows," Ami murmured.

"That's what I said," Mina continued on blithely, "well, through their windows I see human-like emotion, so it wouldn't be respectful to them if I didn't treat them like humans."

Ami blinked. "Oh."

"Alright then," Rei knew Mina was weird, but really…what was she smoking?

A phone started to ring.

It happened to be a very familiar tune.

"Is that _Winnie the Pooh_?" Rei asked incredulously.

Serena reddened. "It's a catchy tune!" she defended.

The raven-haired priestess started cracking up. Daisy, too, let out a few doggy chuckles.

Serena glanced at caller ID. "It's Darien, why…oh no! I've got to go, girls, I'm soooooo late, how could I forget….It's all your fault Rei," Hurricane Serena whirled through the room, gathering her stuff and tripping all over the place, and properly assigning blame where it was due.

"Bye, Sere," Mina yelled after her.

There was a moment of silence.

"You know what I just realized," Mina tilted her head to the side of the room, "I haven't properly met Hermes yet."

JB and Daisy both had the good sense to back far away from the resting Hermes in the corner of the room. With Mina on the loose, who knew what could happen.

"Leave him alone," Ami's voice was soft, but firm. In the short amount of time that she had been with Hermes, she had come to appreciate the company. She didn't want Mina to scare or in any way traumatize him. Glancing at the clock, she noticed she really needed to get back to campus and start on her biochemistry essay. She was getting excited just thinking about it.

"Fine, I'll leave him alone." Mina sounded as if she was giving a reprieve to a naughty younger sibling.

Rei cleared her throat and glanced meaningfully at the clock.

"Do you need a drink?" Mina asked sweetly.

If JB were a human, Ami would equate his collapsing to the floor and banging his head against it as self-harm. She blinked, and decided not to worry any more about it.

The bluenette stood up and patted her leg gently twice. Hermes immediately opened his eyes and stretched out, ready to go at her command.

"Bye Ami," Mina threw herself on the smaller girl that might have caused an interesting turn of events if Ami were less coordinated or strong. This was the one time she was probably happy she was a senshi.

Ami smiled, said her goodbyes, and departed with Hermes in tow a moment later.

Rei, again, meaningfully cleared her throat. And Daisy accidentally bumped into Mina's legs, sending her sprawling in the direction of the exit.

Cursing loudly, Mina sniffed, "I can hear when I'm not wanted, let's go JB."

When JB cast an indecisive look towards Rei and Daisy, Mina said, more warning in her tone now, "JB."

There was another moment of wavering.

"GET OUT, YOU MENACE! I JUST CLEANED THESE FLOORS AND YOU ARE GOING TO LICK THAT UP IF I HAVE TO CUT OFF YOUR TONGUE FOR YOU TO DO IT!" Rei's shrieks of fury were unmistakable.

JB bound out after Mina.

The sincerest looks of sympathy stayed with Daisy.

* * *

Review, please. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **I am just happy to say that I have a lot more time for writing now. I have quit my job and gained my weekends back again. Yay! Also, I have made a lot bigger plans for this story than I originally intended and it is A LOT more complicated. Anyway, enjoy.

**Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. Four very human-like dogs…Sen/Gen. S/D.

* * *

"**_Shit happens._"**

**-Forrest Gump**

CHAPTER 6; Life Gets Serious

* * *

The late hour glaring boldly across the clock made Callie Zikomo sigh in weary tiredness. The papers scattered around her made it impossible to leave despite the fact that she felt like her eyelids were being weighed down with boulders. More coffee. That was her standard solution. 

It was another hour before her concentration completely deserted her and she put her pen down in resignation of having to go home. Placing everything in order, she gathered her purse and jacket and stretched out before leaving her office.

The clock blinked 1:03AM.

She wondered if there was a point to leaving when she would be back in a mere six hours. But the past year had taught her that even the smallest naps and slumbers should be cherished and taken advantage of.

She pressed the button to the elevator and waited patiently for it to open.

Her thoughts, meanwhile, strayed around as most were apt to do when suffering from extreme drowsiness. She thought of all the added responsibilities she'd been given at Winters Writes; the extra work, long hours, and completely worthwhile paycheck. The vacation she had coming up at the end of the year. One she had worked hard to get and could not wait for. Her missing boss. Lots and lots of work…

The elevator doors opened.

Callie Zikomo started to step in mindlessly but stopped abruptly and blinked hard.

A tall man with striking ice blue eyes smiled. He raised his hand.

"What are you doing here, Mr. W…"

Bang.

* * *

The Cherry Hill Temple was at peace on Tuesday morning. Rei hummed while she completed her chores, periodically checking to be certain Daisy had not decided to redecorate while her back was turned. Surprisingly, the mutt was calmly settled on the top step of the stairs, watching her with all the interest one would a particularly boring teacher. 

She swept with a flourish, wiping the thin sheen of sweat that had gathered at her brow. With a huff, she set down her broom and walked into her kitchen to grab a cold glass of water. Daisy whined at her, but she ignored him.

"Go find your own water," she yelled back at him, the pettiness making her feel better, even if she did end up filling a small bowl up for him. Ah, it was definitely the little things in life that made it worthwhile.

The refreshingly cold water halfway to her lips challenged fate. So, therefore, the telephone rang just before she could drain the sweet nectar from her cup.

Cursing rather loudly, it only occurred to her afterwards that there was no law written saying you had to answer the phone.

On the third ring, she picked up. "Hello, Cherry Hill Temple."

"Hello, may I please speak to Rei Hino?"

She froze. Oh no. Oh no no no.

It couldn't be. Not now….

"Hello?" echoed the strong voice, impatience laced with arrogance conveying itself even through the phone.

It was her father.

"Hello, father," she squared her shoulders and used her steeliest voice, knowing she was going to need the strength.

There was a pause. "You sound different. Older, perhaps."

"I am eighteen." _I am your daughter, you should know that. _

"Yes, yes, of course," he murmured.

Rei waited. If she knew a single thing about her father, it was that he got to the point fast. He was probably going to give his condolences for the death of her grandfather then offer to send her some more money to comfort her. The thought made her wince. But it was the only way he knew how to function; with money.

As it turned out, Rei was correct.

"There is a matter of grave importance I must discuss with you. Are you alone?"

Was she alone? There was nobody around her physically.

…except Daisy had plopped himself down in the corner, eyes open and alert. She couldn't even muster up enough gumption to give him a mean glare; she was too busy with the old feelings of betrayal and loneliness. Her father had always been her weakness when she was younger. His affections were sparse, limited to pats on the head or, if she was really lucky, a squeeze of the hand. After her mother had died, he had ceased all displays of warmth and sent her to live with her grandfather, visiting twice a year (if she was lucky). Otherwise, birthday cards and holiday cards were her consolation along with a few presents now and then. And money. He always sent money; like that was a replacement for his absence. When all she had ever wanted from him was his love. Just a simple expression of acceptance. It was so uncomplicated, yet she knew Tom Mishri couldn't fathom it.

Yes, she had been alone and lonely for a long time. Her grandfather had tried, but there was only a certain amount of single-parenting an older man could do before he had needed her help more than she his.

Then her friends had come into her life and her true purpose had shone through. It was hard to feel lonely with all _that_ noise in her life. They had a connection; one that she would feel even if they were separated by planets.

She might be alone but she would never be lonely again.

"Father, please say what you have to. We both know that there is no other human living with me."

"That is precisely the reason I have called."

A hot spark flashed in her eyes.

"Oh?"

"Don't play games with me, Rei. You are an intelligent woman. You realize what my purpose is."

Yes, she did. "The answer is no, father."

He laughed. "I have not asked yet. Listen to the offer first. Every good businessman should know what he is being proposed before he declines."

Rei knew her voice was simmering with barely concealed rage when she next spoke. "I am not, nor will I ever, sell the Temple. I don't care what you have to give me. All the money in the world would not be enough."

"Even for an offer of ten million US dollars?"

The number had no effect on her. He could offer her all the money he wanted but none of it mattered.

"No."

"You would never have to work a day in your life. There would be no worries, you would have complete financial support and probably be one of the richest heiresses in Japan."

The old longing of wanting his love and acceptance was gone. The last flame died with his expressed desire to buy her off. He didn't know her at all.

"There is no price that tempts me. None."

"I find that hard to believe. All people have price, some just is not in money," the mirth was gone, replaced with the hard tone of a politician and businessman.

"You will find," Rei stated calmly, "that neither ten million dollars nor threats will buy my cooperation." Having been unnoticed thus far, Daisy lifted his head and stared incredulously at her back. Had he heard right? Ten _million_? Who was she talking too?

With a low chuckle, her father commented, "You would make a poor politician. Money talks, especially in politics. Nevertheless, I will raise my bid to twenty. Consider this well, my child."

A suspicion was forming in her head. "Why did you want the Temple so badly?"

"That is inconsequential."

"I think not," Rei settled for the best monotone she could produce given that she wanted to burn something to ashes. Preferably the phone. "The Temple itself means nothing to you. And I cannot imagine the small property around here is important enough to warrant twenty million. So what then, father dearest, is it that you want?"

There was another pregnant pause. She focused on her breathing, absently noting that Daisy had somehow moved himself so that he was positioned next to her leg.

"What I want…"

This should be good.

"I want you to come live with me."

It was like a punch to the face with acid knives stabbing her in the back.

"How dare you," she hissed when the tightening in her throat and the leakage problem in her eyes was blinked away. "Don't you dare pretend you care about me! After everything…don't ever use my misguided youthful affections as a basis for emotionally blackmailing me to sell the Temple."

"Now Rei, consider…" the pacifying note in his voice, no remorse evident, was the last tone she heard him use. She hung up mid-note, not caring that three seconds later the phone was ringing again. And didn't stop for another hour.

She had sunk to the floor, crouching in the tightest ball she could make herself. Daisy had somehow nestled himself into her personal space and it said a lot about her state of mind that she didn't even notice. Instead, she unconsciously drew warmth and strength from the creature.

Her father…no, the more appropriate title for him would be ignominious excuse for a human being. Trying to manipulate her into selling the only material item that mattered at all to her, and she wondered why.

What would he gain from buying Cherry Hill Temple, other than making her life miserable? Surely that was not worth twenty million US dollars. No, there was an ulterior motive, and Rei was determined not to get involved. There was not a snow ball's chance in _hell_ that she would sell to him. None. Zero.

Daisy whined (wow, surprise about that, right?) and brought Rei's attention to the fact that he was scratching at the door like it was the gateway to heaven.

She stuck her tongue out at him, an unwitting smile tugging at her lips.

"Fine," she grumbled, getting to her feet and opening the door.

She had chores to do and they were not getting done any faster with her sitting and moping.

This was her life. She was no longer a wistful and lonely thirteen year old girl with insecurities. She was a full-grown woman with friends, love, and laughter. No person, father or otherwise, could come and manipulate her.

And she intended to keep it that way.

* * *

Classes were over for the day and Mina was exhausted. Using her brain to think _really_ hurt. She wondered how Ami could do all that thinking all the time. But just thinking about Ami thinking made her headache stronger. 

And it was only the first day of classes.

_Keep the future in sight_, Mina commanded herself. Her major in design with a minor in business would only come with hard work and major brain usage. That was her choice. And after fighting so hard to have her own dorm at the University, she wasn't having any second thoughts.

Her parents had reluctantly approved yesterday when they had seen JB. Mina hadn't stuck around long enough to here any more critiques or comments, only a 'yes' and she was racing out with the valid excuse of an emergency. Then the whole melodramatic Rei scene had happened and boasted Mina's spirits even more. Maybe too much, because she had trouble later that night going to sleep because she had been so hyped up.

At around one, she had managed to fall asleep. Her thoughts before that had been centered on not having to share her apartment (she had more than enough money from modeling) and the fact the Dean had allowed her to live off-campus. First year students weren't commonly allowed to, but for some reason he had been more than accommodating. Hmm. With a brief scan to make sure JB was still at the bottom of her bed, she had closed her eyes and succumbed to the dream world.

Now, on only six hours of sleep, she was ready for a nap. Thankfully her apartment was not far from the University and she entered the older building, walking up the stairs to the fifth floor. Her building had no elevator, was fairly cheap, and had balcony with a great view. With Ami's help, and a little turned up charm on her part, she had negotiated a great price for rent with her landlord. Mina considered it her best bargain sale yet.

The final staircase loomed ahead of her. She wasn't winded—she was still in great shape from all the battles and running she use to do—but a pang at the tips of her toes warned her that something wasn't right. She slowed down her ascension and blinked to clear all grogginess from her mind, keeping her senses alert.

She made fast work of the final staircase and turned down the hall to where her apartment was located at the end. She noted, with some relief, that the only person occupying the hallway was an elderly man with large glasses who was fiddling with his keys, probably unable to see which one was which.

"Do you need any help?" she asked kindly, stopping with her own keys dangling in her hand.

The old man shook his head and shooed her away with a hand. She grinned at him before continuing her stride. But the feeling of foreboding still hadn't left her despite any visible threats.

Sighing, she reached her apartment number 520 and twisted the keys in two of the three locks before turning the third one mentally. That was a nice little trick Artemis had taught her the year before when she had found out her parents were searching her room. A very subtle electric force that could only be turned on or off if you had magic and knew it was there. Otherwise, you were in for one hell of a nasty shock.

Turning the knob, Mina sensed the presence of the old man again. She turned…

…and ducked with the speediness of a senshi as a very not-old fist tried to connect with her head.

Using her motion to gather force, she ducked into a crouch and sent a series of defensive low-powered (at least for her, because she was sure she was dealing with a human) kicks to the man's knee and ribs. She could smell his surprise as she finished with a graceful kick to his left rib and landed with him against the wall and her hand around his throat.

In vain, he struggled to free himself from her restraining hand but by sheer physical strength she held him bound. A low and menacing growl from her side also drew her attacker's eyes and made him squeak in fear for he was just realizing his situation.

"Well," Mina said cheerfully, "this is quite unusual for a first meeting."

The white hair that had donned him seconds before was now laying a meter away from them. The glasses must have been shed in the spot Mina had first mistaken him as an older man. Too bad. She thought glasses were dashing on a man.

JB had probably heard the noise and run out to see his mistress being attacked. Mina was happy that she had someone to watch her back, even if she didn't need it.

The thug had not responded to her first comment and she felt only curiosity as to why. Why he was not answering. Why he had attacked her.

"What I want to know," she looked him straight in the eyes, "is why you attacked me outside my apartment? I'm assuming it just isn't a weekday hobby, right?"

"B-bi-tch," he choked out, and Mina loosened her grip on his throat. He made another sad attempt to kick and overpower her, but she laughed it off and, in one fast move, twirled him around like a rag doll so his face was pressed into the wall and his hands were behind his back. JB was no longer growling, but staring at her incredulously.

"What?" she shrugged. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that the man was six inches taller than her and about a foot wider, factors she hadn't noticed when passing him by were now glaringly apparent to her. She was just lucky that the man was human and she was not. Otherwise, his nefarious purposes in attacking her would have been carried out.

"Just let me take care of it," Mina advised to JB. Then she turned her eyes back on the man. "So, care to explain yet?"

"Go to hell," he spat, but the effect was lost, Mina was sure, because he was the one eating wall.

"I bet that if I wasn't of the female race you would be a lot more scared than you are now. That is sad seeing as how I bested you, so I think I'll convince you to be a little more frightened. If you don't start answering my questions, I'm going to break every bone in your hand." To drive her point home, she grasped his middle finger on his right hand and started to apply pressure.

JB looked like he was going to faint.

She winked at him. She wasn't going to really hurt him, but a little fear never hurt anyone, right? Plus, she had totally seen this work on some movie or other. The villains were always suckered into threats like that.

And it seemed the cliché held true because the man started babbling a second later when the pressure only started to increase. His neck was sweaty and words nervous when he began. "I don't know what they want with you, I was only told to knock you out and bring you to the van waiting downstairs. I don't know anything. Nothing. Please don't hurt me." It seemed the biggest bullies were always the biggest wimps.

"Any names?" Mina left all the cheer out of her voice this time, power and command were now the only standing adjectives.

The man was breathing hard, his black hair shaking back and forth hard. "No. They contacted me through email. I never know names."

Mina didn't sense any lies, yet she felt like he was holding something back.

In a dangerous whisper, she asked, "How much did they offer you?"

He swallowed hard and again struggled to move. Mina was not relenting. "Fifty thousand US dollars, ok? Now let me go, you bitch!"

With a one last jab to the throat, Mina knocked the thug out and let him drop to the floor. He would be out for at least thirty minutes. Flipping open her cell phone, Mina dialed the police and reported the attack. They would be there soon, they told her, but tie him up in the mean time and don't go anywhere. She didn't plan on it.

Her first day of school and she had been attacked by some lowly thug who was being paid fifty thousand US dollars to kidnap her. Sounds like her life.

She was suddenly swamped by her earlier tiredness and after finishing a tight knot on the ropes around the thug's hands, she sunk down to the floor and lowered her throbbing head between her knees.

A moment later she felt a cold nose press against the side of her face, and she lifted her head and buried herself in JB's soft fur.

One lone tear, felt only by JB, trekked down her flawless face.

The urge to take this young girl away and hide her from the world was overwhelming. And after seeing that amazing display of self-defense…JB could only wonder what in the world caused Mina Aino to learn that. What kind of problems the girl could possibly have.

She sat like that for ten minutes before reaching her cell phone again and placing another call to one of her friends. JB wasn't sure which friend in particular it was because after the police arrived five minutes later, she was swept away for questioning. Then all her friends arrived, the pig-tailed blonde attaching herself like a leech to Mina's side and not letting go, to the frustration of the police.

It was another two hours later that all the police had completely left, taking the thug identified as Corey Levi with them. They promised to call if they found out anything.

Mina looked bone-weary, and all her friends immediately put her in bed to sleep. Then they slowly departed with promises to meet tomorrow and discuss what had happened.

"I'm just glad Mina didn't hurt him too bad. That would have caused a lot of questions," Lita commented to Rei on their way out, voices fading as they continued to talk and laugh.

Questions kept piling up in JB's mind.

How had Mina executed such flawless fighting?

Why had she learned it in the first place?

And most importantly, _who_ was Mina Aino?

* * *

Ami could not shake the feeling of restlessness she felt after leaving Mina's apartment. Something was going on below the surface and she just wished there was enough information for her to figure it out. 

So she went to where she always did in stressful situations; the library.

If they had allowed animals, she would have taken Hermes with her in a heartbeat but that was not the case. It had almost broken her heart to leave him by himself, even if she was going to everyday to go to classes or to go relax in the library. Crates were not in her vocabulary and he was well enough trained to be alone for long periods of time. Ok, Ami could be honest; she just didn't like leaving him!

Ami compromised with herself. She would only expend thirty minutes in the library and then return to her dorm for the rest of the night. That way, even if she had to deal with Silvia, Hermes would be there with her and vice versa.

With that solution in mind, Ami quickly went to her favorite section, the medical journals, to look for some light reading to check out.

It didn't take long for several journals to catch her eye. She shuffled through a few before one in particular caught her eye. It was one of the articles, and it proclaimed that, within a few months, their might be enough information available to cure viral diseases! Malaria, specifically.

Ami was a blue flash as she put the rejects away and went to sit on a soft chair to look over the article. This couldn't wait until she got to her dorm.

_Viral Disease: Could They Be Cured?_

_By Dr. Zevin Drepp, PhD_

Ami settled down to read, engrossed. Halfway through the research article, she stood up and checked out the book, determined to keep to her schedule and take the journal. So far, several excellent points had been made about the virus's entry into cells and eubacteria. Oh, it was so fascinating!

With a smile lighting her face, she practically skipped back to the dorms.

* * *

The librarian watched the strange blue-haired pixie stride away, elated that the medical journal was out of her hands. She knew she should have burned the book months ago but another source had cashed in a favor and asked her to keep it around until someone checked out. Then, she was instructed, burn all records that the book had ever existed. 

She didn't know what was going on but she was just happy to get the book off her hands.

Busy in her thoughts, she didn't notice a tall man enter.

A clicking sound made her turn. "Why," she said with surprise, shivering at the look in his cold icy eyes, "hello, Mr…"

Bang.

* * *

So, what did everyone think? 


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note**: Well, I've really gone and complicated the plot. This story was supposed to be a comedy/romance, but I somehow got sucked into the fun twists and turns of an intriguing mystery. There isn't much interaction with the dogs; that will be heavy in the following chapters, but just some more action, fights, and drama all around! Enjoy!

**Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels before them. SenGen, S/D.

* * *

**"_The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun._"**

**-Richard Buckminister**

CHAPTER 7; Digging Deeper

* * *

By Wednesday, Lita was ready to yank her hair out in frustration. The order of escargot she had placed the week previous had been back-logged and the company was not very forthcoming with the soonest they could arrive. On top of that, a banquet party had canceled last minute and was now loudly insisting for their money back. Not possible since half the food was already prepared. 

All Lita wanted to do right now was put on a pair of earmuffs and take a nap. Maybe cuddle with Teddy.

Well, at least the day could not get any wors—no, wait, she took that back. Deeply and truly, with all her heart, retracted those words. Because they could only lead to one thing…

And just then, like the fates tend to do, they went and proved her wrong.

"Lita! Get in here immediately!" The manager, Carl, shouted from the banquet area. She stopped cutting the tomatoes she hadn't even been consciously aware she'd been slicing and dicing and went to talk to Carl.

"Lita," Carl started when Lita sat down in the semi-comfy seat in the banquet room, "we have a huge problem."

"What else is new?" Lita muttered.

"No, this is serious."

"What?"

"Last year Neron Cole was one of the four men who went missing, do you recall?"

"Yes," she answered, uncertain as to where this was leading.

"He was the owner of this restaurant as well as its two sisters, _The Moonlight_ and _Dreamscape_. When he disappeared, everything was left to his half-sister, Monique Cole. However, due to the natural of the disappearance, she was a suspect to the police and therefore could not take complete control of the three restaurants. And since Mr. Cole had not left a will, most of the control was given to me, Mick and Teri, and some of the other assistant managers."

Carl leaned back and stared at his hands for a moment and Lita wondered what the point of all this political mumbo-jumbo was.

He continued on. "Now, however, the police have alleviated any charges levied at Ms. Cole and she has decided that she has full-rights to the company."

"I'm sorry, but I'm a little confused," Lita interrupted, "doesn't Mr. Cole have any business partners? Someone else who could run the company?"

Carl gave her an approving smile. "Good thinking," he complimented. "And, to answer your question, yes, he did have a partner. Mr. Dawson, unfortunately for us, decided to sell his half of the company to Ms. Cole for reasons unknown to all. Therein lies the large problem," Carl stood and started pacing. "If Ms. Cole gains one hundred percent control, she is going to completely re-do the restaurant and likely fire most of the senior staff members."

"But why?" Lita burst out.

"For money. She informed us that she intends to increase the number of seating, hire more waiters, lessen the complexity of the menu, and fire most of the food staff."

"Are you joking," she demanded rhetorically and then went on, "the entire point of Riverside is to offer a quiet and elegant experience, not be another loud chain restaurant!"

"We tried to explain that to Ms. Cole but she was insistent that we do things her way or we would go away."

"That's not right."

"Right or not, that is what she plans to do," Carl sat down in a chair with a heavy sigh.

"Is there anything we can do to stop it?" was the immediate question in Lita's mind.

"I have thought and pondered and so far nothing has shown itself as a solution. The only way for her to be stopped is if Mr. Dawson backed out at the last minute, but I highly doubt that since they are signing the papers today."

"_Today_?" she parroted, too astounded to keep her fists from clenching. "When?"

"The meeting is in two hours at the Simmons Office Building downtown," Carl waved that aside, "but what I really called you in here for is to talk about your future. You, out of probably all the staff here, are going to suffer the most from the upcoming transitions…hey, where are you going?"

"I am going to stop this! It's insane! I'll find out why Mr. Dawson is selling his half and convince him not to sell it, or at least not to Ms. Cole," Lita, furious, was already stalking out the entrance.

"Lita…" Carl thought to stop her but reconsidered. The girl was young, true, but passionate about what she believed in. Oh, what the hell. His job was lost anyway. "Good luck," he yelled at her retreating back.

"I'll sure need it," Lita mumbled before turning a corner and breaking into a run.

She would not just stand here and let her future drip down the drain. If there was one thing in the world that Lita described herself as, it was a fighter.

* * *

"Honey, pacing around and worrying about Mina is not going to help," Darien Shields sat on the couch, watching his wife tear a hole in the floor with her surprisingly big feet. 

Serena threw him an annoyed look. Despite being madly in love with each, she would be the first to admit that Darien could irritate her like no other. There was just something about his attitude that would grate on her nerves, slowly and painfully. And his smirk…she usually either wanted to rip or kiss it off. These days, it was mostly the latter, but in the beginning (when she had first met him) it was the former.

Now was one of those times she would choose to rip.

"It may not help her, but it is making me feel better."

"I don't see what there is too be concerned about."

"Are you kidding?" Serena ceased pacing momentarily to shoot her husband an incredulous look. "Someone, very obviously human, planned to _kidnap_ Mina. Not kill, but just to knock her out. A human, no less. When have any of us ever had human enemies? I just get a really bad feeling from this whole situation."

Darien stood up and in one large step was next to the blonde nymph. "I think you have lived too long with the fear of having to watch your back everywhere you go. But you have to realize that is over and we are finally safe and can relax. The world does not own us and we don't owe it. Just relax, sweetheart, I'm sure Mina will be fine," he tightened his arms around her fragile body and pulled her to him.

Rip rip rip.

Serena shoved him away, rolling her eyes, and stomping one foot in a very unlady-like manner. "You are impossible. Look at this," she snatched a newspaper off the coffee table that was in front of the couch and waved it, "two women were hospitalized yesterday after being shot in the chest. Both at short-range and both were shot so that the bullet barely missed their heart. Suspicious, no?"

Darien was not following her logic. "So?" he asked, rather stupidly in Serena's loving opinion.

"The first shooting was three hours before the attack on Mina and the second was three hours after," Serena smacked the paper down, the titles blaring the names of the two women, Callie something and a librarian or other, and ranted, "I just feel like this is interconnected. One of the women works at Winters Writes…"

Something clicked in Darien's head. "Isn't that the company whose head executive went missing a year ago? Kael Winters, I believe? His uncle took over in his place, it is all very shady."

Serena was nodding. "Yes _and_ Mina's parents are their corporate lawyers."

"That company is enormous," Darien whistled, impressed.

"It is; which is one of the reasons I believe they could have pulled off a kidnapping and attempted-murder."

"That is one hell of a stretch," he said, skeptical, "you think that woman's attack and Mina's had something to do with that company? Does the librarian have any connection to the company?"

Serena sagged. "I don't know," she admitted, and then brightened, "but I am going to find out!"

"No way," Darien stated firmly, sensing that Serena could only get herself into trouble. A curious Serena spelled for an enormous disaster. "Do not go brown-nosing trying to solve murders. You are not Sherlock Holmes."

"Who?" Serena asked blankly.

"Nobody," Darien looked exasperated. "That point is that you are not going to look for trouble. Certainly, you've had enough for fifty lifetimes, let alone two."

"But Mina could be in trouble."

"She can take care of herself," he reiterated.

Serena did not relent. "I agree. But I am her friend and I have a feeling about this. I am going to find out more."

"No."

"I am your wife, not your dog. And I was not asking for permission. Do not act like you own me!" she snapped.

"I was merely suggesting…"

"You know what?" Serena was near tears and Darien wanted to kick himself for being the cause of them. "You never listen to me, even now. When will you stop treating me like the teenager I was and start treating me like your wife and respected partner I currently am? I love you and will never regret marrying you, but somewhere along the lines their has to be mutual respect and trust."

With those altering words, Serena turned around and stomped into their bedroom, slamming the door behind her, leaving a shocked Darien behind in the kitchen.

Upon her sudden self-exile, her immediate inclination was to burst into tears. She swallowed it, however, and instead picked up the phone.

She had work to do.

* * *

Due to the events of the previous day, Rei was understandably weary when the phone rang. She had no spirit left for another confrontation with her father. But, at the same time, there were several different people who could be calling her and whose call she should answer. 

By not answering the phone she was giving her father power. (And Daisy was giving her _that_ look. That challenging look.)

That would not do at all.

"Hello?" she snapped unnecessarily harsh. Daisy, from his sprawled position on the floor, gave a little whine of sympathy for the person on the other line. He intimately knew the pains of a pissed-off Rei.

When the person didn't immediately answer, Rei again snapped into the phone, ready to hang up, but a sniffle stopped her.

"It's…me…"

Sniffle.

"Serena?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes," Serena replied, sobbing.

Clearly hearing the familiar sounds of her friends' sadness (for it was a usual occurrence), Rei breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't her father. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Darien and me…got into a f-fight," Serena hiccupped. "He doesn't respect me! And he doesn't think my ideas are any good!" She was starting to cry harder now and Rei was having trouble understanding her.

"Oh, Serena," the priestess rolled her eyes. "I cannot understand a damn word you are saying. Why don't you come over here and help me with some work and explain what happened?"

"Ok," another sniffle. "Do you have some cookies I could eat?"

Click.

"Fine," Serena hiccupped again to the dial tone, "be that way," and she set the phone down, standing up and set out for the Temple.

* * *

Simmons Office Building was located in a very rich district. 

The few people walking around were clearly flaunting their designer clothes and perfectly groomed dogs.

Lita received notably odd stares, even a few nasty glares, when she came running through at top speed. Saving her job and the jobs of countless others didn't make time for the speed of a walk.

Though, if anyone had ever followed Lita's progress, they would be astounded to learn that she had run the entire twenty miles.

In thirty minutes.

And she wasn't even sweating.

Well, maybe a little.

"Finally," she muttered, reaching her destination with relief and breathing only slightly irregularly. The appropriate words came to her a moment later. "TGIS," she giggled, making a note to tell the girls about her knew acronym of Thank God I'm Senshi.

While sprinting (more like Superman-speeding) to the downtown, Lita decided on her plan. It was simple, easy to remember, and something she was good at.

She would wing it.

Smoothing down her brown work-pants, she glided into Simmons and had to stop to gawk a moment. Or two.

Recognized as the tallest building in Tokyo, the inside was like something out of a dream. Stone columns were evenly spread about, decorated in the Corinthian fashion of the classical orders of Greek and Roman architecture. With slim columns decorated by acanthus (similar looking to parsley and poppy) leaves and scrolls that held a sense of majesty, the intricate carvings were only enhanced by the ceiling. Filled with angels and cherubs, wicked looking faeries, and a tale of charm and illusion, the scene was one that Lita could stare at for hours.

"Oh, snaps."

"I know," a voice said from beside her, "it can be overwhelming at times."

Lita turned. A man, who looked around the age of his early fifties, was neither smiling nor frowning, just standing companionably next to her. "Yes, very," she answered more to fill the gap of silence than for any actual conversation. There was a vibe that the man was giving off, and Lita didn't like it nor have time for it.

He smiled at her and the weird feeling Lita got from him was immediately evident when they made eye contact. His eyes were empty. No, that was inaccurate. There was greed. His eyes held plenty of that.

"Can I help you with anything?" he asked after a pause, his demeanor speaking of condescension and the way he looked her up and down with disgust was telling. "You look to be a little lost."

Lita straightened. She, better than most, knew the games of top-dog in a man-eats-man world. Intimidation was their language; threats the sport. And she was quite good at both. Despite the misleading visual of her work attire, she was perfectly capable of hitting back.

"No, actually, I'm looking for Mr. Dawson's office. I need to speak to him urgently," she crossed her arms and tried not to smirk at the fact that she was a good two inches taller than he was. Point one to Lita.

"Do you have an appointment?" the dripping disdain hadn't left. "Because I am quite positive he is busy at the moment."

He was a stranger only in name because she knew the soul of these types of people. They were who she was fighting against.

"Are you the secretary?" she retorted hotly.

He flushed, and a mental second point was added at having flustered him. "I own this building!" he snapped. "I could easily have you escorted out."

"That won't be necessary, I'll just show myself around," she then stepped around him and darted quickly into an elevator. His shouting protests were cut off when the elevator doors closed.

"Ha!" she immaturely stuck her tongue out. "But what floor…" she trailed off, finding a convenient list of names on each floor. After several times over, she found S. Dawson and clicked the corresponding fifteenth floor.

It took a while for the elevator to circle back down to the correct floor (Lita had blindly chosen a number when she had previously rushed on). In the mean time, she thought of the encounter minutes ago. The man was dressed in a very nice suit and his voice was cultured in a way she sometimes heard Rei or Mina speaking. She would think on it later because now she had a company to catch.

The ding sounded, finally, and Lita stepped off into a long corridor with several offices on either side. The floor was marble and the sounds of several feet were coming from all directions.

Unsure of which way to go, she went right first and when that proved fruitless, backtracked and turned left. It was by sheer luck that no one thought to stop and question what she was doing there. Her clothes, as the older man downstairs had sneeringly implied, were not exactly Simmons Building quality.

The name S. Dawson was on a gold name plate at the very end of the hall. Checking her watch, Lita had another hour before—according to Carl—the official signing was taking place. She could only hope that was enough time.

_Well_, she thought, _I've come this far_.

She knocked on the door. When no one answered, she knocked louder. "Hello?" she called out, noticing for the first time that there was nobody else in this section of the building.

"Go away," someone shouted, sounding tense, "I'm busy."

"Are you Mr. Dawson?" Lita ignored his previous words, "I need to speak to you." Lita banged once more, tried the knob, and found it locked.

"Go _now_," he sounded nervous now, scared even.

"Are you okay?" Lita started to get slightly worried. "Mr. Dawson, let me in," she said firmly.

When he answered again with a, "Leave before I call security," there was a tremble in his words and she knew something was wrong.

"I can't do that," she yelled back before shrugging and adding, "I'm sorry for the door."

Without further ado, she gave the wood door one vicious sidekick and it gave way easily. Stepping through, she surveyed the scene.

For one thing, there was now a gun pointed at her head.

For another, Mr. Dawson was tied to a chair with a gun also pointed at his head.

"Hello again."

* * *

Miles away, Teddy sat up abruptly. 

Something was wrong.

* * *

Yeah, I know, I really like guns. But don't even worry, Lita won't die (promise!), she still has way too much to do. 

**Next chapter**: there are actually answers…the name of the villain…more villains…and Rei comes face to face with her father…oh, and Teddy gets a little worried and does something about it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**: I apologize for the long wait. I was hit by a feeling of ohmygod this story has almost too much going on for me to handle. But, nevertheless, I worked through that and finally got this out to you guys. Some major info is revealed. Major! There are a few reviewers I would like to thank.

**Ana**: I wish you hadn't reviewed anonymously! I couldn't agree more with your theory on the anti-Ginny people. Thanks for taking the time to read my rant. **Venus Smurf:** thanks for the nomination, again, and I admit to looking forward to your review. I am a large fan of your writing (go Mina/Kunz!) and I'm humbled all the encouragement you give me. **Dertupio**: who advised me to update more often, but was completely understanding that I have a life. Oh, if I could only update everyday just for you! **Micatite**: another author whose stories I love (I actually have been getting into Lita/Neph a little more now because of your influence!), and I loved the suggestion btw. **Someone** corrected me on my usage of Senshi/Sensei, and I want to expressively thank them! I didn't even realize (oh this is embarrassing) I was making the mistake until I went over my story again. **Everyone else**: you are all amazing and I treasure every review.

With that out of the way, onwards!

**Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels before them. SenGen, S/D

* * *

"_**Man, are you an idiot. You made the classic movie mistake: don't explain so much!"**_

**-Danny Madigan, _The Last Action Hero_**

CHAPTER 8; What a Tangled Web We Weave

* * *

And, since it's been a while, here's what previously was going on: 

_Without further ado, she gave the wood door one vicious sidekick and it gave way easily. Stepping through, she surveyed the scene. _

_For one thing, there was now a gun pointed at her head._

_For another, Mr. Dawson was tied to a chair with a gun also pointed at his head. _

"_Hello again."

* * *

_

"How did you get up here so fast?" Lita asked calmly.

Mr. Greed-from-downstairs laughed coldly. "There is a .357 Magnum revolver about to splutter your brain all over this office. I wouldn't be asking stupid questions."

There were a total of four men in the room, three with guns, and one tied to a chair. She could probably take them all easily but there was a large chance Dawson would get shot if she tried anything yet. No, it would be better to wait for an opportunity. If she stalled for enough time, she may even hear something useful.

"Let her go," the man who Lita assumed was Mr. Dawson pleaded, "she has nothing to do with our business."

"No," Mr. Greed contradicted, "it is she I have been waiting for. Miss Lita Kino, correct?"

He was a man that fed on fear. She could play that up. "Y-yes, how did you know that?"

He ignored her, lifting up a thin file and reading. "Black belt in karate, assistant at Riverside Bistro, taking business classes, and…oh, friends with Mina Aino. I'm thinking you can be of use to us," he gestured to the other two men, and they relaxed slightly.

While not frightened, Lita was certainly freaked out at the knowledge the psycho had on her. And Mina. What did she have to do with this?

"What do you want with Mina?" her façade of being scared fell away fast and now she only wanted answers. She made a leap of logic from there, "why did you attack her yesterday?"

"Tsk, tsk. So many questions," he cocked the gun. "Hold your tongue, or I'll cut it off."

She was biting her tongue so hard he might not have bothered with cutting it off himself.

"Good," he lowered the revolver and turned to face Mr. Dawson. "Now, you were just about to sign?"

Lita almost screamed at him to not sign but the ugly looking eyes of Mr. Greed were openly daring her to test his limits. He smirked when she remained silent.

Mr. Dawson, meanwhile, was taking the pen in one trembling hand. A thin sheen of sweat was covering his face and a twitch in his right eye displayed the horrible fear he was feeling. But there was a look in his eyes…one that spoke of defiance.

"The clock is ticking," Greed impatiently intoned, waving the gun around like it was a child's toy and not a weapon of violence.

"But what about when Mr. Cole is found?" Mr. Dawson asked unexpectedly, confusing Lita. What did, whatshisname, Mr. Cole have to do with anything?

Greed laughed caustically. "I assure you, he won't be found. And even if he was, Monique has already signed away his half of the business."

If it were possible, Dawson paled further. Greed again let out an evil chuckle. "Yes, you are very well acquainted with her aren't you?"

"Stop," Dawson whispered painfully.

Both men seemed to forget about the other people in the room. Lita watched the exchange with growing confusion. Everything was so complicated, she wanted just wanted to go home and cuddle with Teddy.

"A two-month affair, if what Ms. Cole told me was accurate," Greed went on, basking in the misery Dawson was going through, "would get you in a lot of trouble with the wife if she ever found out."

Dawson's hands were trembling so much that he couldn't hold onto the pen any longer and it dropped to the floor. A flush of red overtook his face and Lita speculated that he was beginning to get mad.

"And no pre-nuptial agreement, I hear. Such a shame."

"Shut-up! I love my wife! This isn't about money!"

"No, this is about your life. And hers. Sign here, _now_."

Dawson shifted in his seat and seemed to come to a decision fast. His hands were no longer shaking and he looked straight at the paper. He began to talk. "Neron was a good partner, I hope he is found soon. Keep my wife safe, please, and I hope she knows I love her and regret everything I've done with Ms. Cole."

Mr. Greed held up the gun once more. "What," he asked in a deadly tone, "are you doing?"

"For once in my pathetic life," Dawson answered, looking up and into Greed's eyes, "I'm doing the right thing." He picked up the contract and before any one could react, he ripped it in half.

"Fuck you, Mr. Winters," was the last words Mr. Dawson said before a loud click and then bang echoed in the room.

Lita screamed.

* * *

From the moment Ami arrived home from classes, she was sitting down engrossed in the book she'd checked out the previous night. Hermes was sitting at her feet, staring at the book in her hands. 

"Fascinating," she murmured after a half an hour of intense study. The author of the book had made some amazing leaps of logic about finding a cure for AIDS and Malaria. They were truly astounding and Ami was having difficultly finding any loops holes the researchers might have missed.

"If this is true," Ami said in awe to Hermes, "then the lives of millions could be saved."

Ami bent her head down to continue her reading but the ringing of the phone made her sigh and stand up.

"Hello?" she answered.

"It's Serena," the unmistakable wilt of the girl floated through, "and we have a problem. Well, Lita has a problem that we need to run intervention on."

Ami instantly became more alert. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure, but Teddy just came crashing into Rei's temple and was insistently trying to take us somewhere. I just assumed it had to do with Lita since she was not with him. Can you meet us here?"

Ami mentally counted the days. "She is working today, have you called there yet?"

"I will while you are on your way."

"Alright, give me five minutes," Ami let out a mournful sigh in the direction of her medical journal.

"Great! See you…" something crashed and Rei started yelling in the background. "Eee! Bye!"

Ami tucked the phone back into its cradle and started gathering her purse.

In two minutes she was ready. After a momentary struggle about what to do with her treasured book, she put it into her sub-pocket and turned to leave.

Hermes stood in front of the door, a leash in his mouth.

"I am not going for a walk," Ami explained, "my friends need me and you have to remain here." Ami made a move to step around Hermes but he made a grab at her pants leg and tugged gently.

"Hermes!" she scolded, surprised at his behavior. "Let go!" But he continued with his untoward behavior.

Ami kneeled down and gently take his head between her hands, caressing him softly. "I'll be back soon, don't worry," and for whatever reason, she lay a small kiss unto his head, his silky soft fur tickling her nose.

Hermes stood frozen, watching almost at a distance as Ami left.

Then his world faded into black.

* * *

Students milling around the University campus were momentarily stunned when a bright light illuminated one of the apartments for a period of five seconds. 

"Do you see that?" a girl nudged her friend, pointing in fascination at the light.

The friend, slightly sleepy from all the cramming she'd done last night, merely blinked and nodded in a sort of trance. "Sure," she mumbled.

The first girl rolled her eyes and turned to lay into her friend about sleeping better.

Another student, this one a boy with his girlfriend, let out an irritated sigh.

"Chemistry majors," he sneered, steering his girl in another direction.

One very short girl stood holding a pile of books, and when the light suddenly flickered, she dropped them all onto her foot. A stream of violent curse followed and when she otherwise might have been curious about the light, her fallen supplies took priority.

It was with eerie coincidence that the strange light was promptly forgotten by all who had seen it.

* * *

Lita didn't stop screaming until one of the henchmen came and shook her. The pointed 

gun at her temple helped, too.

"You shot him," Lita's voice shook with disbelief. Never before had she seen someone shot right in front of her. Being a Senshi meant she'd fought, and living on the streets briefly had shown her the darker side of human nature…but this…never.

Before the henchmen could restrain her, she ran over to Mr. Dawson's body and bent over him. Knowing she only had a few seconds at most, she focused, grasped his hand, and pushed some of her energy into his almost-dead body. It would hopefully buy him enough time to stay alive until she could call for help.

As predicted, a dozen seconds passed and the lackey's hauled her up roughly.

Mr. Winters, his name now revealed, waved uncaringly at the body. "This is unfortunate since now my plans will be set back."

Lita had heard enough. "Bastard," she hissed. "You're going to be sorry," and she lunged.

The surprise of the henchmen gave her a valuable two seconds in which she was able to deliver a roundhouse kick to each of their hands, dispelling the guns, and an upper thrust to the chin. She landed gracefully next to Mr. Winters who was raising his gun in what seemed like slow motion. It took the amount of time normal people blink for Mr. Winters to find himself staring at the octagonal design on the ceiling.

Lita quickly picked up the office phone and dialed the police. Explaining briefly that someone had just been shot—she was careful not to look at the body for fear of crying—and that they needed to hurry over. After placing the call, she turned to Mr. Winters.

"Now," Lita's voice had a dangerous catch to it, "you are going to tell me everything I want to know. Starting with, who are you?"

Mr. Winters calmly called her a very rude name, leaving Lita with no qualms in kicking him hard in the thigh. "Next time," she promised, "I'm going to aim a little higher. Now, tell me what the hell is going on."

Whether from Lita's threat of bodily harm of the worst variety or because he was finally noticing that his lackeys were MIA, Mr. Winters let out a mirthless chuckle and began weaving a tale.

"My father, Sadi Winters, started a publishing company called Winter Writes when he was in his twenties, nurturing the small corporation until it published a best-seller and started to expand. Around that time he married and had two children, Mashi and Tokoto. With the success in his career and marriage, Sadi lived a happy fucking life," the bitterness in the man's voice was tangible. Lita was disgusted by the evident loathing for the man who had fathered him. Being an orphan herself, Lita had little patient for people who deliberately were adrift with their relatives.

After a brief pause, Mr. Winters continued, "While Sadi's business was constantly expanding, he was hardly ever around for his children. When he did have time, however, he always made sure it was spent with Tokoto, the youngest and obvious favorite. Tokoto got everything; the best schools, girls, cars, and the pride of his father. When he was only twenty, he married his high-school sweetheart and took the position of VP at Winter Writes.

"Everything was perfect for Sadi Winters, except for one thing. His eldest son, Mashi, was that black sheep that every family has. Where Tokoto choose to settle down early, Mashi was always getting in trouble. He gambled, partied, and smeared a dark stain on the Winters name.

"Sadi was content to ignore him, basking in the light of his youngest, until Mashi ended up in jail for manslaughter. Sadi couldn't ignore his wayward son any longer and bought off the judges and privately punished Mashi." Another bitter smile creased the elder man's face, and a calculating gleam blazed out of his eyes. Lita was too entranced with the story to notice either.

"Mashi was to work at Winter Writes in a low janitorial position for the rest of his life or he could go to jail and spend his life there. The choice was obvious. What daddy dearest didn't count on was Tokoto taking a deadly plunge over a cliff in some freak accident in the States. Sadi now only had one son left and a grandson who was only four years and fatherless.

"The man had a strong sense of family ties and abruptly decided to take Mashi under his wing until little Kael was old enough to take over the company. As much as Sadi hated to give Mashi power in his powerful company, he didn't know how much longer he would be around."

Mr. Winters chuckled here. "The irony in all this is that Sadi ended up living for another twenty years. He raised Kael to be a ruthless businessman who made him proud like Tokoto had. In his will, he left everything to his grandson, still not sparing a thought for his other son. What he didn't realize was that Mashi had twenty years to learn the publishing business and develop the cunning of any good corporate worker. He also got a taste for money…"

Lita was starting to get bored the running monologue and cut him off. "Let me guess," she said with a knowing expression, "you wanted the company all for yourself and the only way for that to happen was to eliminate the only person named in Sadi's will; his grandson, Kael. So you hired an assassin who lured him away from home and killed him, blah blah blah. You're a cliché badass, let me tell you. Oh, and trying to speak in third person is kinda creepy."

Ignoring her sardonic input, Mr. Mashi Winters nodded. "Yes, I hired someone to take out Kael and his partners, too," he laughed harshly, "but that just created more problems."

A strange feeling of curiosity settled in her stomach and a question kept burning in her mind. "How did the assassin kill them?"

"Very good question for woman," Winters sighed theatrically. "And since we have a few more minutes, I guess I can answer it." Lita let his strange comment pass, assuming he was talking about the police arriving and arresting his murdering ass, excuse her language.

"The hardest part was getting them in one place. None of them liked me, you know, not even my nephew, so I had to wait until the event happened without my interference. Finally, they all went on a vacation together for a few days. That was when I struck. I called a few people and got the name of a woman who promised to be efficient and that we wouldn't find the bodies. Good deal, right?"

There was one thing nagging at Lita, besides the fact that the man next to her was a psychopathic freak. "What was the woman's name?"

"Well…" he trailed off in mock thought. "I believe she referred to herself as Setsuna."

Lita froze. "Are you sure?" she stuttered out, her mind whirling in thought.

Mashi Winters snorted and tried to spring another attack on her. Lita easily stopped him, almost not watching her strength because of the shock of hearing who was involved in the assassination.

"Pathetic," she snapped.

Straining her ears, she could hear the ding of the elevator and the hurried commotion of footsteps. It sounded like the police had arrived. When the noise started to become audible to the human ear, Lita called out, "we're in here!" and waited, distantly keeping a hold on Mr. Winters while she thought out the implications of what he had told her.

A couple of seconds later, eight or so men entered with guns fully loaded.

Mr. Winters started laughing, and Lita turned to see why.

The good news was that the backup had arrived.

The bad news was that none of the eight men with guns were police officers.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Serena heaved, bending over to catch her breath. She didn't fully realize until now how much her middle and high school daily dashes to school helped to keep her in shape, as well as the battles at night. As soon as they found, or rescued, Lita, she would have to start exercising more. 

The other girls were faring better than Serena, although they were a little winded too after a fast jog through the city of Tokyo. Mina was blearily rubbing her eyes, having awakened from a deep nap to come and find her friend. She was still semi-recovering from her attack yesterday. Artemis snidely said she was just using the excuse to be lazy.

The place where they were stopped looked vaguely familiar to Mina. She couldn't place it, but the golden plaque across the front read _Winter Writes Corporation _and a weird mental leap had her thinking about JB. She wondered absently if he was ok by himself, since had a left with no more than a _my your leave_, or whatever it was you said.

Teddy barked and, with a curious amount of energy, led the four girls into the building.

"I guess we're here," Serena muttered.

"Really?" Rei drawled sarcastically, stopping a moment to fall in line with her pigtailed friend.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Only you," she said, "could find time to be mean to me when we are trying to rescue Lita!"

"I do what I can," Rei bragged with false modesty.

"Why does Darien disrespect me?" she changed the subject abruptly, the thought still plaguing her mind.

Rei began to make a wisecrack but had the foresight to stop herself and actually consider the question. Her friend needed a real answer, not a bantering one.

"Well," Rei said thoughtfully, "I think you are overreacting."

Serena made to interrupt but Rei held up a hand. "No, listen to me a second. Darien loves you. In fact, he _worships_ you. His biggest fear is that he'll lose you and it doesn't help that you're a crime fighting heroine. It also does not help that you seem to attract trouble almost worst than Molly does—that's saying something—and I think that sometimes you don't realize that. It is really hard to see someone you love get hurt over and over and have no power to stop it."

Serena hung her head in shame. "I didn't think of that," she murmured.

"He loves you, Sere, and even a blind fool could see he respects you."

"Whoot!" Mina called out ahead of them, having overhead Rei's speech. "That was inspirational, honey."

"Thank you, thank you."

Ami held up a hand to silence them, and with the other flicked out into existence her visor. Placing it on, she pinpointed Lita's location.

"The fifteenth floor," Ami said after a moment of analysis. Teddy, who had been silent since leading them to the building, started to fidget uneasily. Then he let out a frantic bark and ran towards the elevator and pressed the button with the tip of his nose.

"That dog is way too smart for my comfort," Rei commented to no one in particular.

"They all are," Serena added.

Mina shrugged. "Aren't they supposed to be?"

"And they have a weird aura…" the priestess trailed off.

"You are _so_ paranoid."

"Better than being disrespected."

"Hey! That was mean."

"That was mean," Rei mocked.

"Stop it!"

"Stop it!"

Ami rubbed her forehead and considered leaving the bickering pair downstairs. But, not knowing what they would face when they reached the upstairs floor, it was unfortunately more prudent to take the immature duo.

Surprisingly, it was Mina who said a sharp, "Enough. Save your quarreling for after we find Lita."

Ami shot her friend a thankful look.

After another few minutes of impatient waiting, the elevator dinged and opened.

Teddy began to bark insanely.

All the girl's eyes widened in surprise.

A group of about ten men were encircling one tall Amazon-like girl, guns held steady at her. When the doors opened, they all turned the weapons towards the outside group.

"What did Lita get herself into?" Rei asked under her breath.

One man stepped out of the elevator and Rei immediately got a bad feeling about him.

"Well, isn't this a lovely surprise," he surveyed the girls, his eyes finishing and staying on Mina. "Quite a welcomed surprise."

* * *

**Note**: I know, another freakin cliff-hanger. And, I know, I promised that Rei would meet her dad face-to-face, but that is coming up in a future chapter. I eliminated a certain plot twist having to do with him, so you'll just have to wait for his true purpose to show up. Now is the time to take a moment to review and tell me just how much my long updating periods irk you. Or, tell me how good/bad the chapter was. Either thing is appreciated. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **I'm excited about this chapter. It really begins to bring the other guys in. I hope everyone enjoys. Thank you to my readers for all the lovely encouragement I've received.

**Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels before them. SenGen, S/D

* * *

"_**The most successful people are those who are good at plan B**_**."**

** -James Yorke**

CHAPTER 9; Transformations and Trouble

* * *

The soft material rubbing against him was unfamiliar, lulling him away from the peaceful sleep he'd been having. He let out a groan of protest and rolled over, trying to snuggle deeper into the only source of warmth. When there was none to be found, one hand groped for a blanket.

One hand…

With a dry-throated croak, Zevin Drepp, for the first time in a year, spoke: "Shit," he summed up.

He took a quick inventory of his appendages (all of which were bare for the world to see) and sighed in relief when everything of importance was counted for. He finally stood up on wobbly legs and made his way through the familiar paths of Ami Mizuno's dormitory.

Finding a shirt big enough to fit him was quite a challenge, but a detour into Ami's roommates' room proved to have plenty of men's clothes. When he was donned appropriately enough, had gurgled with some mouthwash, and was clean enough that nobody would noticeably wince from a stench; he sat down on a wooden chair and let the thoughts flow.

Somehow, against scientific reason, he had been transformed (mutated? distorted?) into a canine. Vague memories were trying to fight their way to the surface.

He remembered that him, Kael, Jedrek, and Neron were all out at Lake Side Riviera under the pretense of a vacation. No, that had been a ruse to secretly meet with the CEOs of large corporations all over the world to discuss merges, new discoveries, and the recent environmental laws. It hadn't turned out well; most of the CEOs had left in a temper and then…

Then, the night before they were supposed to leave, a woman had appeared.

Literally had appeared out of thin air. To a scientific mind like Zevin's, that was unbelievable enough to keep him occupied for a century trying to figure it out. The woman had spoken cryptically about atonement and Kael's uncle…and their pasts? It was all said so fast and done so quick. The dark haired woman had finished speaking and then had waved her huge staff (he'd deduced some soft of fourth century handle design but nothing else was telling) and everything had gone black.

His next memory after that was of running. Smelling. Feeling. Everything was so acute.

For months, they had traveled across the country, barely making it from day to day. Then, roughly a month ago, the humane society had found and captured them.

Dogs…

Zevin stood up abruptly, happy to have the body of a human once more. He was a scientist; one of the best in the world, he could factually state. His work included finding cures for the incurable. A year away from his work could severely set him back if his funding had been cut off or his labs sold. None of what had happened made sense. Of course, there was probably never a time when turning into a dog made sense.

His thoughts continued to move in circles as he ciphered through one thing after another, landing on one thing that was apparently vital to the equation.

Ami Mizuno.

How she fit into this, he didn't know. But since her friend had found them, weird events had happened. And things were starting to fall in place and make sense.

He was sure, now, how everyone had played a part in Mashi's conspiring. His nephew's role was obvious; Mashi wanted control of the company that Kael had. Kael disappeared and the company was his.

Neron, too, played a vital business part. He owned three of the most successful restaurants in Tokyo, and held a hand in most of the major food industries in Japan. Having control over a large publishing company and the restaurant business was a lot of power.

The demise of Jedrek was a little harder to figure out. Jed was the son of an influential politician and he himself was planning to follow in his father's footsteps. Currently, however, Jed was a partier and daredevil who enjoyed trying the most dangerous stunts life had to offer. The week before coming to Rivera, Jed had been surfing in the hardest currents in Australia; after, of course, hang-gliding from the ocean cliffs of Melbourne. He, of all the men, was the least to deserve getting put at the top of a hit list.

Then there was him, Zevin Drepp. Mashi Winters had good reason (well, in that mad man's mind) to want him dead. If the vaccines for viral diseases ever became public, they would likely be administered for free. Many drug companies would lose millions of dollars when patients no longer bought treatment, only the cure. Mashi had a heavy hand in those drug companies, so having Zevin and his research gone highly beneficial.

His back-up plan—he always had one—had worked, too. The librarian he had trusted with his medical journal had given it to the right person. He knew that, eventually, Ami would realize the extent of what she had in her hands and contact the right authorities to give it too.

But that was before.

Now, everything was changing. He needed to find the others and figure out how to change them back.

Which brought forth the question of how he was returned to his native form. He searched his mind of the last moments he remembered…Ami was leaving, said he couldn't come, and then she…

Zevin groaned.

His life could not be any more of a fairytale shot to hell.

* * *

"Defense," Mina commanded, crouching into a more steady fighting position, and watched out of the corner of her eye as the other girls did so to. "Guard," she said next and Serena was promptly shoved behind Rei.

Mina made eye contact with Lita and both girls decided that the best thing to do was find out what was going on before taking any one down. Mina communicated that with her eyes to the others. They allowed the guards to restrain them and remove their cell phones.

Teddy had quieted down, running so he was pressed against Lita's leg. The hairs on his body were standing straight up and he growled low in his throat. Lita shushed him before anyone turned their attention towards him. Adrenaline laced with fear began to pump through her veins. While she was next to invulnerable to a human being, her darling dog was not. She held herself motionless.

"How convenient of you too show up. You saved me a lot of time, but, to be fair, you also cost me some credibility with the lackeys. Do you know how hard it is to find competent workers these days?" Mr. Winters shook his head. "Very, very hard."

Rei cut in. "As interesting as this is, who the hell are you?" she demanded, and several guns were aimed at various parts of her anatomy.

"Mashi Winters," Mina answered for him to Rei, a cold smile touching her face as she then turned to look at him.

Mr. Winters chuckled but didn't answer.

"You know," he started conversationally, "your friend Lita great upset me. And before we go in the meeting room to chat, I think I'm going to have to make an example out of someone."

Mina tensed, shooting silent eye orders to her warriors: keep Serena out of the cross fire, try not to kill anyone, and don't get shot!

Removing a gun out of one of the guard's hands, Mr. Winters surveyed the group. "This is hard," he clicked his tongue, "so let me ask, any volunteers?"

Before any of the girls could say anything, Teddy barked.

Mr. Winters rolled his eyes. "Very well," he aimed the gun straight at Teddy.

Mina yelled, "No, Lita!" just as the gun was fired and the tall brunette crouched down against the resistance of her captor.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion for Lita. She infused a slight shock of electricity into Teddy as the bullet impacted and blood began to seep as Teddy fell over.

"No!" Lita screamed, breathing heavily. Her hand was on Teddy and blood was all over it. She appeared to be in great pain.

With a caw of disgust, Mr. Winters ordered a guard to give Lita a towel for the mess. "Get these girls restrained, I don't want anymore mistakes to happen. Because this is what happens to mistakes."

By this time, Serena had fat tear drops dripping down her face. She made to go and hug Lita but both Rei and a random lackey halted any progress she tried to make. "How could you!" she shouted instead. "You're a horrible person!"

"Enough, Sere," Rei hissed, "Lita _got_ it."

"Yes, I'm simply evil," Mr. Winters agreed, not hearing Rei said and not caring what the group of young girls said to comfort one another. "Now, let's chat in a civilized manner away from any stragglers who might come walking in at any moment. Take them to Meeting Room one," he ordered.

Lita was roughly hauled up by a guard who was trying not to look at her or her unconscious dog.

Clenching a fist, she snatched the towel and wrapped it around her hand.

While the girls were led into the Meeting Room, Lita subtly dropped a small piece of metal into her pocket and wiped the reminder of the blood off her freshly healed hand.

Ami sent a questioning look to her and Lita nodded back. Ami gave a small thumbs up to Rei and Mina. Serena breathed a sigh of relief.

They entered the Meeting Room.

"Feel free to have a seat, we might be here a while," Mashi invited.

Not one of the girls so much as twitched.

"Very well," he sighed, snapping his fingers. A moment later, the girls were unceremoniously shoved down into the stiff chairs. Mashi took a seat himself and nodded to the guards to stand watch outside and around the room. He knew first hand what at least two of the girls were capable of, and he was very curious.

"You must all be curious," he began. "And so am I."

"Then let's start with the basics," Mina swiftly put in. "Why me?"

Leaning back and giving off all the airs of someone who was deeply relaxed with the conversation, Mashi Winters replied, "You are going to help me gain this company."

* * *

"This is crazy," Darien Shields said flatly. The word 'crazy' could probably apply to everything in his life, but what this man was telling him was beyond that.

"I know," Zevin Drepp agreed, "but it's true, and I have a feeling you know that too."

"How did you even find me?" Darien asked in suspicion. This day was not going his way. His wife had stormed out and hadn't called nor answered her calls for hours, and on top of that, on his only day off in a long time, a batty scientist had come knocking on his door claiming he and his friends had been turned into dogs and he was the only one who could help.

"I found your name in Ami Mizuno's address book."

Darien narrowed his eyes. "And why were you in possession of her address book?"

"I told you why," he sighed tiredly, sinking as much into the hard-cushioned chair as he could. "I was her dog, Hermes. About three hours ago, I blacked out and reverted back to my human form in her apartment. After collecting my bearings, I found her address book and came here."

Standing up, he began to nervously pace. "But why _me_?" he pressed.

"I don't know," Zevin admitted in frustration. He was not use to following his instincts blindly. But after he had read the name _Darien Shields,_ he had a strange feeling that he was the person to see. It was too early to bring the police into the mix, especially when the other men were still in canine form. "It was just a feeling I had," he finished in answer to Darien's question.

"A feeling," Darien echoed. He abruptly picked up his landline phone and dialed a series of digits. Zevin watched curiously as the dark-haired man dialed number after number, his swearing become a little more detailed each time he hung up to try again. After the fifth or sixth, he placed the phone in its cradle, and paced some more.

"Fine," he suddenly stopped. "Let's assume that everything you said was true."

"It was," Zevin assured him.

Darien waved a hand. "Assuming that it is, then what do you suggest we do? Because _I_ have a feeling that something big is going on right now with my wife and her friends and it has to do with you."

"We need to get the other guys and somehow figure out how to revert them to their nature states."

"Well, that's it, huh?" Darien muttered sarcastically. "What makes you think that I can help you with that?"

Zevin stood up, eyeing Darien for a moment. It wasn't so much his looks as it was his mannerisms that gave Zevin a feeling of déjà vu. Something weird was happening and when stripped away of a scientific explanation, his instincts were all that was left to guide him. They were saying that this man in front of him was powerful and familiar. They were shouting that he was the only person in the universe who could help him.

And Zevin trusted those instincts when it came right down to it.

"I don't know what it is about you but somehow you seem familiar to me. And the fact that you haven't booted me out on my ass is promising," he sighed. "Look, man, I don't know who else to turn to. This past year has been…weird."

A strange expression flickered over Darien's face. "Welcome to my life," he said, giving up on any attempts to make his life resemble normal. Normal was overrated, anyway. Before Zevin could answer, Darien held out a hand. They shook over the silence.

"Do you know where any of them are?" Darien asked, grabbing his signature green jacket and apartment keys.

"Yes, here is a list of each girl's address," he handed the paper to Darien.

"I've been to most of their apartments before, so this shouldn't be a problem," Darien responded, shoving the paper in his pocket. "Who first?"

"Let's start with Kael, who Mina had. Her apartment is closest and I think that Kael will be the most help once we get him back," and then Zevin added quietly, "thanks for helping me—us—it really means a lot."

"No problem," Darien said, slightly embarrassed. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

The pair reached Mina's apartment less than fifteen minutes later. Darien located the hidden key under the door mat—he knew Mina well—and opened the door…

…to be promptly mulled by an enormous white beast.

"Argh!" Darien squeaked in a finer moment of masculine terror.

"Kael!" Zevin exclaimed.

The white monster paused and surveyed his find. He sniffed Darien's shirt and eyed Zevin before barking manically.

"Get off me," Darien shoved the insane beast to the side and stood up. He picked hairs off his shirt in disgust.

The beast known to Mina as Jelly Belly, real name Kael Winters, was staring at Zevin in fascinated wonder. He trotted over to him and sniffed some more.

"I think Darien can change you back," Zevin whispered. "I don't know why but don't you too have that strange feeling that he can?"

Kael barked once, shortly. Zevin took that to be a yes. He then turned to Darien.

"So, what now?"

* * *

"Oh, really?" Mina asked with deceptive calm, mentally rolling her eyes at the villain's pronunciation that she could help him take over the company. She pinched Ami (who was directly to her right) on the knee twice, and when the other girl looked down subtly, she signed directions to her. Ami looked back up a second later and imperceptibly nodded.

"All I want you to do is place a short call to your parents…"

"My parents?" Mina exclaimed in disbelief. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"They are the company lawyers, of course. But, more importantly, they have the power to make a legal and binding contract," Mr. Winters impatiently explained.

"And you want me to call them and say what exactly?"

"Tell them that unless they draft ownership papers to Winter Writes for me to sign in three hours, one girl is going to be shot every hour, starting with their precious baby girl."

"You're sick," Serena burst out, anger starting to fill her. If this had been any other group of girls but them…no, she didn't want to think about that. Half a dozen lives had already suffered.

Mr. Winters laughed. "You must be…Serena Shields, the beloved wife of Doctor Shields. Oh, won't he miss you."

Rei stomped a firm foot down on Serena's and grabbed her hand. "Don't," she mumbled under her breath.

The slight noise was enough to draw Mr. Winters attention away from Serena momentarily. "Rei Mishri, the daughter of the _very_ influential politician Tom Mishri. You lived with your grandfather until his death and inherited the Cherry Hill Temple."

"My name is Rei Hino," the fire priestess spat.

"Of course," Mr. Winters mocked, "my apologies."

"Rot in hell."

"I'm sure I will," he agreed genially. "And, of course, Ami Mizuno. Your mother is Chief Surgeon at Tokyo General, as you will probably be in ten years. A good resource," he said thoughtfully.

Ami said nothing.

Mr. Winters ignored her silence and clapped his hands. "Time is wasting," he reached into a pocket and held out a phone. After delicately pressing a few buttons, he handed it to Mina. "You are going to place that call, press speaker, and explain that Mashi Winters wants a full contract for possession of Winters Writes. They have three hours starting when we end the call. And sound scared, maybe a little desperate."

Mina hesitated briefly.

Mr. Winters grabbed the nearest girl, Rei, and yanked her head back, exposing his gun to her bare neck.

Mina pressed 'talk' and then 'speaker.'

"Don't forget to mention for them to deliver the paper to my lawyer," his grip not loosening on the furious girl beneath his hands. Rei had to suppress her instincts to fight back. She occupied her uncomfortable time by reciting the fifteen agonizing ways she knew how to kill someone. It was a hard choice of which she'd pick.

Lita, who had been remarkably silent the entire time, was busy thinking of a way out of the mess they'd gotten themselves into. She vastly hoped that Mina had a plan. Her hands were still slightly shaky from the events that had transpired outside.

The bluenette situated the furthest from the madman was carefully trying to extract her Mercury computer. She needed some more information but didn't want anyone bar Mina to see her taking the device out.

Serena still had Rei's hand in her own and hoped Mr. Winters appreciated how narrowly he was escaping ten different excruciating deaths.

The phone rang three times before someone picked it up.

"Hello," Mina said dutifully before anyone could speak, "this is your daughter and I know it's really unusual for me to call since you are always trying to make my life as difficult as possible but I'm in a little bit of trouble and I'm hoping you'll help me out on the basis that I'm your daughter, if you know what that means, being that you are never around when I need you the most."

Mr. Winters glared at Mina's rambling and pulled a little harder on Rei. The abused girl growled lowly.

With a sigh of annoyance at the bother of Mr. Winter's insane antics, Mina added: "I'm in the hands of a madman who is about to decimate my friends and I and you have to draw up some papers for him so I can live," she paused a second to wait for any response on the other end.

She didn't have to wait long. But instead of the wiry tones of her aging father or high squeaks of her mother, a deeper, strong, and very familiar in a hazy way, voice said, "Can you please put that madman on the phone, Mina?"

Mr. Winters froze and dropped his hold on Rei. He cursed, not quite believing the voice he was hearing. Mina, too, had lost the power of speech. The others were looking at each other in puzzlement.

Mr. Winters pounded an angry fist on the table. "Is that you, boy?" he demanded into the speaker.

"Yes, Uncle Mashi, it's your nephew. Not quite as dead as you'd like me?"

* * *

"Where should we put it?" guard One asked to guard Two.

In guard Two's hand was a dead mutt when had been on the unfortunate receiving end of Mashi Winter's fury. The guards could relate.

"Just toss 'em over in the trash," guard Two replied, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting up.

"Fine," grumbled the other guard, picking up the dead weight of the Labrador. He was extremely startled when he saw the supposedly dead mutt _blinked_. He froze, slowly placing the dog on the ground.

"Hey, Mo?" he called to his 2-pack a day co-worker. "I don't think this mutt is so dead."

"Don't be a dumbass, Ty," Mo sneered. "We all saw Mr. Win'ers shot him."

Ty looked down at the dog again, observing the dark red stain on his otherwise dark coat. He had seen Mr. Winters put a bullet through it. The mutt blinking was probably just a figment of his imagination. It had been a rather long day.

He picked up the dog and threw him into the trash.

"Ya ready?" Mo was already on his second cigarette, pacing restlessly around the alleyway.

"Yeah, let's go back inside," Ty said, turning his back on the mutt and exiting the alleyway with Mo.

There was a moment of silence.

Then a small ball of light illuminated the alley, seemingly coming from the dumpster. It lasted for about fifteen seconds before all was returned to normal once more.

Except for one thing.

"What the _hell_ is that smell?"

* * *

A HUGE THANKS TO **VENUS SMURF**! I received a nomination for best ONGOING-FIC, a true honor and I hope some of my fans will, when the contest begins, take the time to go to SMFanfiction dot net and vote for me! Thanks again!

See any mistakes? Please tell me because I want to know!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **My inspiration has finally been switched on, and here's an extra big chapter to celebrate it! I really like this chapter, it has the beginnings of romance and true love. Plus, it's fast paced and doesn't waste time. It sets the stage for the next chapters explanations and flirtations. Have fun with it.

**Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels before them. SenGen, S/D

* * *

_**Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.**_

_**Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes.**_

_**Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears.**_

_**What is it else?**_

_**A madness most discreet,**_

_**a choking gall and a preserving sweet.**_

-**William Shakespeare, ****Romeo and Juliet**

CHAPTER 10; First Contact

* * *

Mina could literally feel her entire body seize up in a motionless stupor. It was a moment of complete and blissful unfeeling. Then, as her life had a trend of doing, things fell apart.

Mr. Winters roared in a furious bellow that had spittle flying everywhere. The guards all straightened in attention, while the girls exchanged wary glances between each other.

"I hear that you haven't lost that disgusting habit of spitting when you're mad, Uncle." The deep tones of Kael Winters commented in disapproval, "nor the frightful tendency of exerting violence whenever it suits you."

"Shut-up!" the elder Winters bellowed, in a rather immature fashion, Ami noted.

"Now, now, none of that. Reign in your temper, otherwise the next couple of sentences are going to be very difficult for you to handle."

Mashi Winters laughed harshly. "The company is rightfully mine. I now have complete control and there is nothing you can do to stop me," the rather diabolical ending made all the girls cringe and wonder if all villains had some kind of pact to say the same stupid phrases over and over.

"My lawyers, who have the courtesy of being here at the moment, disagree with that statement."

The elder Winters froze for a moment and then smirked slowly. "What a coincidence that I have their daughter here, then. Mina, has something to tell you, don't you girl?"

Mina was still slightly speech impaired. She knew that voice and it was slowly driving her insane of trying to place a face to the voice. Pushing back her raging thoughts, she spoke clearly before Mashi Winters began to get crazier.

"Yes, I do," she signaled Lita with her eyes to protect Serena when the time came, "if you don't sign the company to Mashi I'm-_such_-a-villain Winters, then he is going to kill me and all of my friends and all of my beloved pets. Oh wait, could you maybe go check on JB? He's probably dying to go out and do his business, poor thing."

Winters blinked, trying to decipher if Mina had said what she was supposed to.

The other person on the phone let out an annoyed hum. "Miss Aino…"

"Mina," she corrected sharply, with a wrinkle of disgust at being addressed by her last name and a 'miss.' She was not that old!

"Mina, you have nothing to worry about," he soothed, and then to his Uncle: "The company is still in my possession and if you so much as harm a hair on that girl's head, there won't be enough left of you to feed to an ant," the last part was said with a dead serious tone that had the girls all shooting each other questioning looks. Mina, on her part, was staring avidly at the speaker phone, enrapt with the voice of Kael Winters.

"My hero," Mina sighed dreamily at the voice. Rei glared in disbelief and promptly kicked their supposed 'leader' to get her re-focused.

"Ow," she hissed, but her eyes were cleared of the former fog that had clouded them before.

"You must realize, Uncle," Kael Winters continued, ignoring whatever he thought he might of heard from the daft Aino child, "that your plans have already been dispelled. Must I explain the implications of my return? Or, rather, who my return as restored?"

Mashi Winters seemed to freeze at that statement. His mind was reeling from what exactly Kael was implying. "No," he breathed, furious.

Hearing the slight exclamation, Kael chuckled mirthlessly. "Yes."

The girls were clueless as to what was happening. Ami was now typing silently on her Mercury computer, taking advantage of the distractions.

She typed in 'gun control' and only had to wait a half-blink before a dozen different entries were listed from her perusal. She read through a few before a hand was reaching to hide the smirk that threatened to overcome her.

Examining the room, she found that exactly seven of the guards were armed with guns. The rest had a different form of weaponry, but to a lesser extent. Easy enough for a Senshi to disarm, of course.

From what Ami was reading, she would only need another four minutes before they could make their move. She signaled to Mina.

Mina, however, was still too busy mooning over the voice on the phone and listening intently to the conversation they were having.

"…and your hand in pharmaceuticals is destroyed. As soon as Zevin Drepp publishes his research and cures, the treatment centers you fund will have no more use in treating the patients for Malaria and AIDS—because their will be no more patients."

Ami's hand stilled. _What?_

But, that book…

Mashi chuckled. "That is not something I'm too alarmed about quite now. I've had that taken care. Now enough of your drivels. You've hard my promises, and now I want a copy of that contract signed in three hours."

Kael seemed to steam with condescension, even over the phone. "You are ignoring what I am telling. All this is ultimately fruitless."

Although the girls could clearly see Mashi Winters was getting frustrated, his voice told no secrets. "Why is that?"

Forty-five more seconds…

"Lita, Rei," Ami whispered, nudging Serena with her foot also. When the girls sneak a sideways glance (or forward, in Serena's case) she mouthed _be ready._

At the vindictive stares Rei was aiming for Mashi Winters, Ami winced slightly on his behalf and hoped the fiery girl didn't shed_ too much_ blood.

Twenty seconds.

Mina was tensing, moving her toes so she was in a springing position.

"Because, Uncle Mashi," Kael Winters was speaking from the phone, but his voice seemed to echo throughout the room, "you're under arrest."

Several things then happened. The phone clicked off, the door was slammed open, Ami pressed a few keys on her computer, and the girls all sprung up from their chairs and attacked again.

* * *

Neron Cole was embarrassed to admit that despite having a degree in business, owning three of the most raved about restaurants in Tokyo, and being a generally successful man, he found himself lying naked in a dumpster in upscale Tokyo.

Fumbling around for a minute rewarded him with a ratty long shirt that smelled like…well, it was probably better if he didn't think about it.

What he should be thinking about, and this was the part where he was rather embarrassed, was what the _hell_ had happened to him.

His memory took a moment to recall a few choice things. The past few minutes, for example, came to the front of mind almost immediately.

One moment in particular stuck in his mind.

_Lita had stopped a bullet meant for him._

It defied the laws of physics.

It shouldn't have been possible for any human to do that. Forget that he had been turned into a dog; dismiss the past year.

He told himself to breathe and decide that trying to answer all the questions swirling around in his head was going to get him absolutely no where. Instead, he jumped out of the dumpster and shakily balanced on two legs for the first time in a while.

Although he was still disoriented, his legs were trying to propel him back into the building. Lita was still in there, and he had to get to her.

She could still be in danger, he thought, horrified that it had taken him this long to think of that.

So, with only the dirtiest t-shirt he had ever worn, and nothing underneath, he ran at the speed of a fast wobble back towards the Simmon building.

* * *

Across the street, Mrs. Wealthy was utilizing her husband's guilty conscience in form of a piece of plastic. She already had several bags filled with very expensive clothes and she idly wondered what to buy next.

She scanned the block, mentally deciding that a Louis Vuitton suitcase would add nicely to her luggage collection. Her eyes swept past the Designer Jewels store, the few police cars, over the half-naked running man, and her thoughts ran along the line of getting the latest design, in the fabulous burnt orange color, no, maybe auburn, oh what a tough decision it would be…

Mrs. Wealthy slowly swung her gaze back along its previous path. Designer Jewels, check. Police cars; check. Half-naked man…

Check.

With a shriek of outrage, she dropped all the bags she was holding and watched as the man hobbled in the prestigious Simmons Office Building, his hands stretching his ratty shirt as far down as it would cover. Which wasn't very much.

To add to the fire, there were quite a few police cars parked outside the building.

Highly affronted, and not a little curious, she whipped out her cell phone and dialed.

* * *

The door was beyond repair once Kael Winters had the satisfaction of kicking it off its hinges. The police officers Kael had called shot each other knowing looks, before pressing their backs around the doorway and positioning themselves. Now, they moved fast, yelling, "Put your hands up and drop all weapons now!"

From what Kael Winters had explained, the scene they were supposed to be greeted with was one of exactly five female hostages, between the ages of eighteen and twenty. The hostages were likely sitting around a business table, with more or less ten guards around the room, all possibly armed.

They were supposed to get the girls to duck immediately under the table and then act. It was due to the long pause after opening the door that Zevin and Darien tried to muscle their way through to the front to see what was going on. Darien had a pretty good idea, though, of what to expect.

He tried to hold back an amused snort at the scene.

The guards were doing either one of two things. They were lying unconscious on the floor or frantically banging their guns to make them work. Most of them had already dropped their weapons and had their hands in the air. It was slightly amazing that they were being so compliant, true. The real scene, however, was the position of the girls.

Serena and Ami were huddled under the table, the former of who was randomly whacking guards in the knee caps with her shoes, while the latter was enrapt with what appeared to most to be a palm pilot. Darien knew it was her Mercury computer.

Lita had been half-way through a whip kick followed by a knife-hand punch to the throat before she noticed the audience. She flashed Darien a smile and casually leaned against the back wall.

And while all these displays were quite interesting, it was the last two girls that held the most eyes.

Mina looked as if she was lecturing one of the guards, leaning over and getting in his face…and banging his head against the table every so often when she thought he wasn't listening to her. Darien doubted any woman-oriented male could listen to the pretty blonde when they had a front row to Mina's standard low-cut shirt.

And then there was Rei.

She was straddling Mashi Winters and had one of her dainty hands wrapped around his thick throat.

Her shrieks of rage and anger had probably droned out the arrival of backup. Not that the girls appeared to need any.

"Well," an officer finally spoke, "I don't think we're needed here. Maybe we should just wait outside until these ladies finish, and then we'll come in and do the easy stuff," he grinned, joking, and lowering his gun and signally the others to do the same.

Another officer shook his head. "If only all civilians could defend themselves half as well." The police force fanned in the room, spreading out and taking down the remaining guards.

The girls had all finally noticed the entrance of the backup squad.

"Darien!" Serena shrieked happily, somehow managing to leap straight from her position under the table and into her husband's awaiting arms. She let out a half-sob, half-laugh and buried her face into his shirt.

Zevin Drepp laughed at the display, his own eyes not quite believing how easy the whole thing had been.

Then his eyes connected with Ami's.

It was similar, in experience, to, as unromantic as it was, watching the inside of a washing machine. All the colors of the clothes were swirling around and around, and the hypnotic motion was utterly enthralling. That was exactly what looking into Ami Mizuno's eyes was like; enthralling.

The stare was broken when he blinked and Ami looked down blushing. Obviously, she didn't recognize him. But why would she, when his previous state had employed the body of a canine.

So, given everything that had happened and had yet to be explained, Zevin ignored it and gave Ami Mizuno the largest and sincerest smile. "I believe we've met," he murmured, moving closer and crouching down.

Ami blushed even harder. "Oh?" she asked, bemused but not unfamiliar with this person.

He held out his hand, to which the bluenette hesitantly took. A few seconds later, both were standing rather close to each other.

"Zevin Drepp," he said warmly.

Her eyes went wide with recognition. "Wow," she breathed. "I have so much to ask you!" she blurted out, trying not to fawn over the world's arguably most brilliant scientist.

Zevin chuckled at the continuous stain of red that was traveling down the little nymph's neck. "With pleasure," he agreed, kissing her hand.

Ami was literally speechless in embarrassment, flattery, and, quite unfamiliarly, attraction.

Rei, on the other hand, was projecting her thoughts quite loudly. Three of the officers had finally managed to take the furious priestess off Mashi Winters. Winters had been so relieved that he offered no resistance to arrest as long as he was taken far, _far_ away from the psycho.

Rei shoved off all the hands trying to restrain her and faked a smile that looked more like a shark bearing teeth. "I'm calm," she lied, shooting glares at bastardWinters (as opposed to his nephew).

"Sure, ma'am," an officer said uneasily, watching the fractious girl with wariness.

As Rei calmed herself down, Mina tried not to be too conspicuous in her staring.

"Do you remember that conversation we had?" she mused to Lita, who was standing beside her.

Patience with Mina was not something Lita excelled at. "Which of the fifty _million_ conversations are you referring to?"

The sarcasm flew over the blonde's head. "That one about the Rating System," she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

As it happened, Lita did recall that particular conversation about a year ago. They were having a sleepover and discussing what girls naturally talked about; boys. Somehow, after many giggles and laughs, they had come up with the idea of a Rating System. One through ten, where they mutually agreed Brad Pitt was a ten and Melvin was a one. Eventually the whole thing had dissolved into a pillow fight when Serena had declared Darien, too, was a ten, and everyone else had groaned their disagreement.

"What's your point?" Lita shook herself from memory lane, surveying the room absently for anymore threats.

Mina sighed with an overly dramatic flare. "I was just deciding what _he_ would rate…and I can't say any lower than a 9.54."

Lita looked in the direction of the specified he. "Are you joking?" she asked rhetorically, for Mina did not kid about men. "Why a 9.54? Wait, never mind, I don't care to know," she knew Mina could spend hours explaining what each individual hundredth of decimal indicated, and didn't feel the need to get into it right there. So she gazed at Kael Winters intently for a few moments.

"Well?" Mina inquired impatiently, making Lita realize that she would require an answer to her ridiculous statement.

"Mina," the brunette huffed, "now is just not the time to be thinking about male booty."

"What do you mean?" Mina was horrified. "Every second is the time to be thinking about men. Every. Second."

"Fine," Lita gazed again, and couldn't quite see how Mina had arrived at a 9 and a half (roughly). "I mean, if you go for the long hair, aristocratic nose, and domineering presence, then, sure, he's at least an eight. But my idea of a ten is more like—"

The loud entrance of another figure stopped Lita from finishing her sentence. "Hey guys, what'd I miss?" the figure asked.

"—that."

* * *

The number of shocks that could be fit in one day astounded Kael. He liked to think that he was becoming somewhat immune, even amused by them.

And this shock definitely fell into the amusement category.

"Hello, Neron. I'm pleased you could join us, despite your state of dress," he pointedly motioned with his head. "I'm sure that'll give the paparazzi something to talk about, other than our return."

Neron blinked, looking down on the dirty shirt that only covered the very bare essentials, and grinned. "Nice try. Not even the threat of the paparazzi could put a dent in my happiness," he happily bantered back. His eyes started to scan the room. First he noticed the villain of the day practically handcuffing himself (note: ask about that later) but it wasn't what he was truly looking for.

Ah. There she was. Next to her crazy blonde friend.

Unconsciously, he breathed, "Lita," and began to make his way towards her.

When he stopped in front of her, she had the most adorable wide-eyed look. So irresistible, perfect, lovely—he couldn't help his next actions.

Stepping into her personal space, he cupped her cheek with his left hand and slowly pressed her into the wall. He stroked her cheek and murmured in her ear, "_My_ hero," before fully completing their connection and kissing her.

It was, to be quite cliché, like coming home. His lips instinctively slanted over her bottom lip, gently applying just enough pressure to open her mouth. She moaned, her body finally responding to the visual strangers onslaught. Burying her hands in his soft hair, she wrapped one leg around him and pulled him closer, her tongue joining the ministrations at the same time.

"That's one hell of a kiss," Mina commented to no one in particular, acting as if it was an everyday thing for a hunk to walk up to Lita and French out on her. She watched for a minute in simple Love Goddess curiosity, before shrugging when it seemed the pair would be going at it for a while.

The entire room had also been staring avidly at the scene. While most of the police officers had already left to bring the bad guys to jail, a few remained who were almost drooling.

Zevin and Ami were having a discussion too intense about parasites and the link to sanitation to notice the world around them.

Serena saw the entire spectacle, and raised a brow at her husband. "I think he has the right idea, don't you?" she flirted slyly.

Darien didn't waste any time in answering the silly question.

"Hey," Rei called to one of the left over police officers, "would you mind shooting me? Twice?" she pointed to each eye.

"Uh, sorry ma'am," he answered cautiously, unsure of whether she was serious or not.

"Useless," she muttered sourly, sickened by all the dopiness. "I'm getting out of here," she shouted to, first, Ami, and then Mina when the bluenette didn't even blink in her direction. "What the hell is going on?" she shrieked, stomping a foot when everyone still continued to ignore her.

Mina finally turned her eyes on the furious—what a surprise—priestess and walked over to join her. "I have a feeling," Mina confided, "that Ami and Lita are going to be occupied for a while."

"What was your first clue?" she bit out, walking towards the exit.

"Well, actually—" Mina began to answer.

Rei shoved her and left.

"Ack!" Mina half tripped, half stumbled into someone's arms.

And because fate was female, it happened to be the arms attached to the body of Kael Winters.

* * *

Rei really wanted to hit something. As she trudged up the stairs of the Temple, she felt such a large swell of irritation that wouldn't go away. Unlike the other girls, she couldn't help but wonder why now, of all times, had the kidnapped men decided to reappear.

Her paranoid mind first produced thoughts of it being a ploy to get media attention. But that wouldn't fit in with what Mashi Winters had told them all, about his plans to use Mina's connections to secure his company position.

It also didn't fit together with Darien arriving in the company of all the men. He must know something, and Rei couldn't wait until she could ask him what.

She'd have to be patient for a while, then. Eventually, when Lita disengaged herself from practically eating Mr. Cole's face, and Ami broke off her science-y discussion with the Drepp fellow, they'd all migrate to the Temple to discuss all that had happened.

"Rei!" a voice called out from behind her as she was taking the last step and almost made her trip.

A severe headache was washing over her. She completed the step with as much saving grace as possible, pictured all the breakable objects she couldn't wait to break, and turned around.

"Father," she stated flatly, her heart beginning to pound. It had been so long since she had met with him face to face. He hadn't even bothered to attend her grandfather's funeral, opting to send one of his many assistants to express his condolences. Bastard.

Tom Mishri was still climbing the stairs, panting softly from lack of exercise, which strangely made Rei feel better, if only slightly.

When he managed to make it to the top, trying to hide his wheezes, he made to hug his daughter. Rei stepped back neatly, avoiding physical contact.

"Still the immature teenager, I see," he coldly alleged.

Rei pointed a slender finger at the limousine parked below. "Just leave. Neither of us wants you here, so just _go_." She plunged ahead to the door, hoping but not expecting he wouldn't follow.

He followed. "We have business to discuss, Rei."

"No, I don't think we do," she opined, pausing at her front door and standing in front of it. The message was clear; this place is mine and you're not welcome.

Tom made a frustrated noise. "You can't stay here forever. And I'm offering you a golden opportunity that you'll never get again."

"Probably not. Good thing I don't want it," she snapped.

"Be reasonable, Rei. You could have everything; endless wealth, a gorgeous mansion, high-class friends, a nice husband, kids," he tried to sound alluring in his offers.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she incredulously stated, "You really don't get it. I already have everything. My friends are everything to me. This temple is everything. You might be convoluted enough to think money can buy happiness but let me tell you something, none of it matters if you don't have anyone to share it with."

"You poor, naïve girl. I provided all you ever needed! The clothes, schooling, all of it was because of money. Don't lecture me about happiness, because all of yours had a price," he sneered, defending his stance.

As her heart rate slowed down, the tightening in her throat lessened, and a large boulder of a weight bounced off her shoulders. While smiling would be highly inappropriate at this time, it was what Rei felt like doing anyway. She finally started to see her father clearly, unclouded by the longing of acceptance. She realized now a man like her father could never be happy unless Rei was made of yen.

"No," she smiled unnervingly, "I was miserable at school. All the girls teased me because I wasn't catholic and the nuns disapproved for the same reason. I purchased all my clothing from the local donation stores, with the money I earned by working for grandfather. You're wondering where the money you sent me went," she interpreted the scowl on his face, "well, it came in handy once grandfather feeling his age and needed medical treatment. So, I do thank you for that."

"You're lying," he confidently asserted.

"I'm not, and even if I was, I owe you _nothing_," she stressed.

At the end of his tether, he shouted. "You're my daughter! I made you, I own you!"

"No one owns me," she spat.

"You will do as I say," he breathed hard, fury flaming his seedy brown eyes. "You will sell me the Temple," he commanded.

While the Temple held many good memories for Rei, and was the only home she'd ever known, the question of why he wanted it was begging to be answered. "Why?" was all she said.

"It's a means to an end," he tried to calm himself down, explaining, "you will live with me, impress all my sponsors with your beauty and _meek_ attitude, and I'll turn this piece of junk into my central Headquarters," the last part was spoken with so much intentional down-play that Rei suddenly understood his interest.

She laughed coolly. "And it all makes sense. It didn't matter how much money you paid me because if I were to live with you, it'd be your money again anyway. Clever," her voice indicated otherwise, "you'd get all the benefits and none of the downsides."

Tom Mishri didn't reply.

"Of course," Rei drawled, getting tired of the mind games her father had been playing all her life, "my answer is no. Is always going to be no. I will die," she stated with sudden vehemence, "before I ever see you lay your grubby, corrupted hands on my grandfather's temple!"

"Enough with your dramatics, you plebian child," but he had noticed her eyes were practically glowing violet, giving her a surreal effect, a commanding effect. Power was naturally oozing from her.

His mind quickly caught up with all that had been said and in the way that had quieted many scandals, his brain found a weakness.

"You say your friends are those important to you? I have a feeling they'll be very…sympathetic to me," he implied, the threat alarmingly clear.

Instead of any trace of fear, Rei snorted. "Go for it," she said, "you'll be surprised."

It was then he realized he was losing ground and fast. From what she was saying, he didn't have any hold on the girl. And that was just unacceptable.

He stepped a few feet closer to Rei, ready to prove his dominance in at least one way, and snarled. "Someone should have taught you this lesson years ago," he raised a hand, his intentions clear.

And while Rei had stopped feeling anxious and needy when it came to her father, there was still that unconscious part of her that believed she was unworthy. And instead of blocking the attack, like she easily could have done, she tensed, awaiting the strike.

What she didn't notice in the split second before her father's hand would've connected was the door flying open and a man stepping out. His whole body shook with suppressed rage, having heard everything spoken between father and daughter as he intercepted the oncoming blow.

"You will not lay a single finger on her, or I will kill you," the deadly calm voice of Jedrek Hoffman announced.

* * *

From far away, the Keeper of Time watched.

And smiled.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I promise you, everything has a purpose and it will work out. If anyone has any questions, wants to discuss things with me, please indicate so in your review and I'd be happy to respond! Since this story only has about two more chapters left, I beginning to think of new plots. So my question to the audience is this: **What type of story do you want to read?** Please be detailed. In the end, of course, I'll write what I feel, but I get inspired by ideas, so please bring them on! Thanks, everyone. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **I got a little sidetracked from the main story. Mikiko Hino wouldn't let her story be left untold. So, this chapter mostly focuses on Rei, but everyone makes an appearance!

**Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels before them. SenGen, S/D

* * *

"_**If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn't follow. I'd be at the bottom to catch them when they fall."**_

_**--Anonymous**_

CHAPTER 11; This Is Your Life

* * *

. 

There was a stunned silence.

Tom Mishri, in all his life, had never lost all control of a situation before. It was his job to control, fix, and order. There was something about his daughter, though, that burst through all his facades, forcing him to expose his soul. Even when she'd been only seven, she had a way of looking at him with her unnerving indigo eyes, dissecting every flaw. He hated it. Hated her, in a way, for making him feel so inadequate.

Mikiko Hino had been his greatest downfall. The pretty girl had come from a common background but his youth had given him blindness to anything but how she made him feel. Neither of their families had blessed the union. Due to that, the intimacy of defiance would prove to be their strongest bond.

After the elopement, Tom had started to work hard, slowly drifting to the side bespeaking of money equaling happiness. In the middle of him running for a minor government position, Miki became pregnant.

Then the fights began.

Tom wasn't ready to be a father. He was only reaching the tender age of twenty-three, and fatherhood was a distant concept. He had no desire to care for another human being. A wife was quite enough. Callously, he insisted she _take care of it_.

Miki silently left that night, returning to the welcoming arms of her father. Although he felt guilty, he was pleased that he was free to run his campaign and spend the nights wherever—or with whoever—he wanted. The last month of Miki's pregnancy, he realized that he missed coming home to a clean house, a warm meal, and a ready bedmate. Whores could only substitute to a point. He went to the Temple, begged Miki to return, and eventually convinced her to return.

Her father was furious. Mr. Hino alternately yelled and pleaded for Miki to stay, to not return to her rightful place by her husband's side. When she caved in to Tom, Mr. Hino warned that if she left now, she was never welcome their again.

And once again, defiance was the rope that held their relationship together.

Rei was born two weeks later, to Tom's disappointment. He had been imaging a hearty son to carry on his line, not a weak girl. And due to complications, Miki would be unable to bear children again. It could be said that Rei Mishri continually disappointed her father right from the moment of her birth.

The only good trait the child had was her beauty. Her bad ones were numerous. She was too smart, too quiet, and held too much perception for such a young girl. He tried not to spend too much time with her. She had a way of bringing forth all of Tom's weaknesses for the world to see. On a rare occasion he had condescended to spend time with her, he had taken her to the park, purchasing her a strawberry ice cream cone, his personal favorite. But she had just shook her head, politely refusing the treat. He had become enraged for no reason, angered beyond belief that the small girl wouldn't eat what he was giving her. He then demanded she eat it. She said no. He shoved the cone into her hand. Her eyes flashed, and she dropped the cone on his shoes. As punishment, he yanked her over his knee and blistered her behind. She didn't make a sound.

He later found out from his livid wife that Rei was allergic to strawberries.

And the next day, an article with a picture of him spanking Rei had splashed to pages of the _Tokyo Times_. He had lost his campaign the following month.

He never took Rei out again.

Miki coddled the child, and they argued about that. She urged him to spend time with her, and they argued more. He only had enough time to focus on his campaign. Not some stupid girl, whose only purpose in life would be to stand and look pretty.

Miki eventually stopped nagging him. She also stopped caring. Then she died. She had been on her way to pick Rei up from a vocals lesson when a car had swerved and hit her, killing her instantly. So, in a way, even the loss of his wife was Rei's fault.

He had, afterwards, fostered her care onto Miki's father, sending monthly checks to cover any expenses and any teensy prickling of guilt. It had worked. Tom Mishri had been free to build his reputation among his circle and conveniently mention his beautiful daughter whenever needed. He visited on occasion but could never tolerate the ungrateful brat's company for very long.

Yet, it was now necessary to tolerate her behavior because she was vital in his plans to cement his political power. Most of the powerful men he knew were traditionalists in the way that they took care of their family. If he were to become a part of that family, through a marriage, then his power would be absolute. Rei was the key ingredient to the mixture, the one who would marry.

He had narrowed it down to one family he desperately wanted to be a part, and who he saw an opportunity—they had a son a little older than Rei—to accomplish it. They were the Hoffman family, an influential name that he was literally drooling to be connected to.

Except, now, he was standing in front of that very same son. The one who had disappeared, leaving his desires thwarted for the time being. It should have been impossible for the boy to be standing there. Impossible. His disappearance a year ago had devastated the politician but he'd made other plans since then. And while Jedrek reappearing would be a glad reprieve—because, honestly, no other family was quite as influential—having him witness the exchange between him and Rei was detrimental to his goals.

His mind was in a flurry. What to do…this should have been _impossible_.

The word must have slipped out, for the next thing he knew Jedrek Hoffman was shoving him away in disgust.

"Nothing is impossible," he snarled.

* * *

"Impossible," Rei's father had breathed, and Jedrek was sickened that men like this had the right to breed. All they wanted in the world was power, thinking it was the key to everything. But the world was much more complex than that, it had its secrets and the purest experiences in the world were trying to figure them out. 

He replied something snappy back at Mr. Mishri, his arm snaking its way around Rei's waist. The arm was his way of lending his support, for as much as he wished to fight every battle for her, he knew this was hers to conquer.

Rei stiffened in his embrace, and his heart dropped as he realized that she probably didn't recognize him. After shifting back to his human body, he'd found some clothes and had plopped down on the floor, too overwhelmed to do anything more.

_How…who…_why.his thoughts had circled around those three questions repeatedly. Although he didn't possess the brains Zevin did, he was able to conclude that Rei and the other girls had something to do with it all. After spending almost a year in canine form, he knew Mina adopting the four of them was not a coincidence.

The week he had spent with Rei had been a revelation. He had done everything in his power to annoy the spitfire. He reasoning was simple; he enjoyed her reactions, as pure and passionate as they were. Having lived in the world of politicians all his life, and spent the past year as a _boring_ dog, purity of emotion was extremely rare.

And now, he wasn't even sure how to explain all that had happened. Maybe there wasn't a way. But while he had been sitting and reexamining his experiences, he had heard the sounds of fighting, including the familiar voice of Tom Mishri, and had waited until it raged out of control to step in.

"What are you doing here, Jedrek? Your family has been so worried about you!" Tom tried to recover, smiling falsely and pulling his arm out of Jed's hand. He took a step back, his eyes betraying the rush of panic he was truly feeling.

"My family is no concern of yours," Jed informed him coldly, unwilling to overlook the huge faux pas he'd made.

Rei was standing stock-still, and although Jed couldn't see her face, he could feel her shaking with building wrath.

Tom's head was turning; thoughts of any saving graces he could take were being regarded and the discarded. He only had one, standing right in front of him. "I see you've met my daughter," his voice aimed for pleased and came out sounding nervous, "isn't she a delight?"

And with that, Rei snapped. "You are vile, hateful, CRUEL, and I HATE YOU!" she screamed, practically spitting in her anger. She tried to take a step forward, arms raised and ready to do damage. The unknown man, Jedrek Hoffman apparently, stopped her with his arm. She let herself be restrained, too wrapped up in her haze of indignation to reprimand the stranger.

"Now, Rei," her father tried, backing up some more, knowing he had blown everything.

"Get. Out," she put all her resentment into a glare. "I am done with you," she haughtily sneered.

Tom opened his mouth to say more but Jed's icy look made it clear that nothing he could say would help. It would just make it worse.

"Leave," the priestess demanded.

Tom opened his mouth to argue, or perhaps insult his daughter more, but was interrupted. "She told you to leave," Jed said harshly.

"As you wish," Tom said, turning away, then back around to say one last thing. "But realize that this is my last offer, I won't speak to you or of you again if you deny me now," he brought out the big guns, hoping the ultimatum would sway her mind.

"Leave," she repeated emotionlessly.

Tom Mishri left with the sinking realization that he'd completely lost more than just a political merger.

* * *

There wasn't even a brief moment of pause. 

"Who are you?" Rei whipped around, immediately intent on blasting out all her frustrations on the man before her. "And what are you doing here?" she added, as that was important.

"Jedrek Hoffman," Jed grinned, "or, as you were fonder of yelling, Daisy."

"_What_?" her voice sounded distant from where her mind was spinning wildly out of control. It was a puzzle that seemed to be scattered around in separate pieces, trying to arrange themselves but ultimately failing.

She tried to assemble her thoughts. Jedrek…coming out of her room…Daisy not barking…Daisy…Jedrek…

The puzzle suddenly fit.

Rei, naturally, acted first. "You pervert!" she lunged forward to punch the stupid grin off his face. "You invaded my privacy! I changed in front of you! Oh, I'm going to remove your eyes with a fork," she screeched, not even noticing that she wasn't landing any hits.

All Jed could do was laugh. While he was normally of good humor, he couldn't help but be extra cheerful. As long as he remained in his human body, nothing could bring him down.

Especially not a spitfire banshee with great legs. No, that was definitely a highpoint of his rather tumultuous year.

"Listen to me," he pleaded with a twinkle in his blue eyes. He gave her his best puppy look, which was rather more developed than most could lay claim to.

"Talk fast," she said, her face a picture of annoyance and curiosity. Her long raven hair was settled on her back like one massive sheet of black rain, and she would click her tongue every so often.

She painted a lovely picture.

"You're beautiful," Jed traced an imaginary finger along her jaw line, eyes roving over her figure.

Rei landed a rapid punch to the man's shoulder. "Ow!" he chuckled. "Can't take a compliment?"

"The small amount of patience I have is waning rapidly."

"Ok," he sighed, reining in his elation and becoming serious, "it's just hard to know where to start."

"Then let me," she crossed her arms, "_why_ were you a dog?"

"Always the hardest questions first," he grumbled. He expelled another sigh, and began.

"Well, it started with Kael's obsession with hunting…"

* * *

Mina had a habit of ending up in the weirdest positions. A month before, she'd gotten locked in the gas station restroom; the previous week, her favorite Gucci shoes had been ruined by a natural doggy gift; and now, she had tripped and landed in the arms of a Spartan man brought to present day. 

Seriously, the man holding her had a warrior-like face, and the body to compliment it. She sighed dreamily to herself; this was one of the better weird situations.

While he was staring at her longer than was socially acceptable, she was absently wondering if copping a feel of his dreamy body would ruin the moment.

Unfortunately, the spell was broken when Lita finally seemed to gain some semblance of sense and let out an undignified squeal that Mina believed to be completely unnecessary.

Well, to be honest, it was what Mina said that broke the mood. "What's so frightening about having a hot stranger come up to kiss you?" she accidentally mused aloud.

Kael blinked in astonishment at the blonde. "What did you say?" he inquired, bemused.

Mina giggled nervously, for lack of anything else to do. "Never you mind," she hedged, "let's not exchange pleasantries."

Kael would have repeated his earlier _What did you say?_ if he believed her words would sound any less insane the second time.

"Right," he drawled, making it clear what he believed her mental state to be.

To Mina, it was the same as calling her crazy, which she was but would never admit to it, and so she took immediate offense to the unspoken words. "Hey! I resemble that," she snapped indignantly.

Normally, Kael was a stoic man, one of few words. He hadn't gotten so far in a cut-throat company using his emotions. And while the past year had been quite detrimental to his state of mind, it didn't change his inherent nature. But something about this girl just made him want to laugh and then pound his head against a steel wall.

She took a step back, already missing the contact once she was gone. "I'm Mina, by the way," Mina grasped his left hand with her right hand, so they couldn't exactly shake, but neither mentioned it.

"So I gathered," he said dryly.

"And you're Kael Winters," she felt duty-bound to point out.

He nodded. "That is correct."

They stared at each other, unabashedly, for a moment.

A weird feeling welled in the pit of Mina's stomach. "How do I know you?" she suspiciously asked.

Kael weighed his answers and instantly decided that the truth was, coincidentally, the fewest words.

"I'm JB."

If Kael expected Mina to find that weird, maybe even pass out of shock, he obviously didn't know her well at all.

She outwardly brightened. "That makes total sense," she bubbled, hitting her head comically. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Ironically, it was him who was then shocked. "Aren't you at all surprised?" he couldn't help but ask.

She smiled sympathetically, knowing he couldn't possibly realize she'd grown up with the Law of the Weirdest Things Ever!! plaguing her. She'd grown somewhat immune to bizarre things.

"No," her answer was honest. "I've seen weirder."

"Right," he said again.

"My best friend is a lost princess," she felt the need to explain, to make him understand. "No matter how many times I cut my hair, it always grows back. I know the quickest way to literally _dis_arm any creature—and I have. People tell me all the time that they want to kill me, and then they try to. And my favorite color is rainbow," she added, in case he didn't have enough evidence to commit her.

Mina watched Kael carefully for his reaction, which was very important to her for some reason.

All he said was, "That is weird."

Mina smiled, and something within her clicked. "I know."

"All I have," he found himself sharing, "is a crazy uncle. Oh, and don't forget being turned into a dog for a year. That obviously can't compare."

"Well," she wrinkled her nose in a conciliatory way, "your uncle was extra vile, if that makes you feel any better."

Kael found himself laughing and finding that, yes, it somehow did make him feel better.

* * *

Ami was surprised she made it through her conversation with _the_ Zevin Drepp. If there was anyone in the science world that she respected most, Dr. Drepp won the prize hands down. And actually talking to him…it was the equivalent of most girls talking to, say, Johnny Depp. 

Her heart was hammering loudly and her palms were damp with moisture but the smile on her face didn't want to leave. She hoped he didn't notice that she wasn't gesturing so much as shaking.

"…using the quadratic formula, of all things!" Zevin finished his anecdote about how a colleague of his had found a new outer-space constant that would make it possible for people to live on the moon. The more she talked to him, the more evident it was of how out of her league he was.

"Amazing," Ami practically squeaked, hoping that her face hadn't turned too red. She wished, right then, that she had just an ounce of Lita's unintentional sophistication, or Mina's confidence, or Rei's assertiveness, hell, even Serena's social skills would be nice right about now…

But Zevin either didn't notice Ami's nervousness or ignored it. He continued to casually chat about science this, science that. It was a slow process but eventually Ami began to relax. Her heart beat at its regular pace, and her palms cooled off. She even managed to make eye contact (but immediately broke it—he had an intense stare).

The small talk was beginning to run out as Ami became more curious about the events of the past year. She decided to cease chatting until Zevin ran out of steam, and then drag him over to the temple were she could run tests.

She waited, and waited. But he just when she believed he was winding down, his eyes would light up with another thought and he jump into another tangent. Ami would've interrupted him ages ago but the notion of no conversation for a _year_ made her eyes soften in compassion.

It took him awhile but he eventually noticed that she was no longer participating. He sighed in slight disappoint, happy to have just stayed here and stimulated his brain. "I'm sorry," he grinned. "I tend to ramble when I haven't talked in a while."

"Don't apologize," she stammered. "I understand."

He gave her a half-smile that hit her right at the knees.

"B-but we should probably go to Rei's temple were I can," she lowered her voice, "run tests and get answers."

His brows furrowed. He knew she was involved, somehow. Giving her a once over—just to check for any unusual markings, of course—he gave a short nod.

The police officers had mostly rounded up the henchmen and were holding back the paparazzi that were creating a mosh pit outside. Zevin winced at the sight of one reporter climbing on top of someone to nose dive over the officers. Suffice to say, he didn't make it.

"That's one thing I didn't miss," Zevin whispered to Ami. "We need to escape," he decided. As his mind slide into finding a solution, he scanned the room. Seeing a window, he grabbed Ami's hand.

An electrical shock passed through him when they made contact. He heard her gasp and attempt to let go. His grip remained sturdy.

Because, in his mind, there was no way he was letting go.

* * *

It was a good twenty minutes before any thing resembling sense could penetrate the haze in Lita's brain. 

_Teddy…Neron…_

_Dog…human…_

Neron gently bit down on her lip and rational contemplation flew away for another few moments.

Then everything seemed to intensify; the flush on her cheeks, her swollen lips, the body against hers. A deep place inside her started to insist that she take a _break_, for just a _minute_, to think things over.

_Because_, it was saying, _if Teddy is Neron, and Teddy was a dog, but Neron is human, then…_

_Neron is a dog?_ she concluded absently, busy with more important things.

_No_, her brain screamed, _the other way around, stupid!_

_The dog was Neron,_ she switched, and then: _**What?**_

She broke off the kiss, breathing hard and probably looking like a mess.

Neron looked offended. "I wasn't done," he informed her sulkily, moving forward to capture her again. She swallowed, shaking her head but not moving because her motor functions were still a little slow, and noticed then the flashes going off every second.

She made the mistake of looking over her shoulder.

"Eek!" she shrieked. There was at least twenty-five cameras, all either recording or snapping rapidly.

She turned around again to see Neron simply laughing at their private moment being recorded for all of Tokyo to watch.

Steamed, she found her voice, and snarled, "If you ever want to do that again, I don't want a single picture of this to make it to the papers. Not. A. Single. One."

Something about her tone must have alerted him to how serious she was. He gave a sober nod. "You've got it, babe," he promised, managing to sneakily plant another light kiss on her neck. "Get out of here," he pointed to where Zevin and a pretty girl were climbing out a window.

Hoping the hearts weren't in her eyes, Lita murmured the location of the temple in his ear before slipping behind him. "Hurry back," she said.

"Always."

* * *

_FOUR HEIRS RETURN: IT WAS A CONSPIRACY!_

_By Danielle Walters_

_Tokyo- Kael Winters, Jedrek Hoffman, Neron Cole, and Zevin Drepp returned this week in just the same mysterious circumstances they disappeared in. It was reported that a showdown of sorts climaxed in a series of arrests, including Mashi Winters, Kael Winters' uncle, who is whispered to be behind the disappearance of the men… _

_Five women were said to be held hostage. _

_No pictures are available at this time…all the cameras and film, despite being different materials, shattered….photographers are still baffled. _

_

* * *

_

**Note**: So I'm not sure how many chapters are left. Thanks to all the response I got from my last question. I'm definitely going to write another Sen/Gen (my fav), so no worries.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **No, this is not a figment of your imagination. I am still alive! But more importantly: still writing. I deeply apologize for the long wait; this was, hands down, the hardest chapter to write. So many loose ends to tie, and I didn't even get to all of them. The chapter is a huge 5000 words (well, huge to me!) so I hope it was semi-worth the wait. As always, enjoy!

**Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels before them. SenGen, S/D

* * *

"_**I can resist everything except temptation.**_**"**

**--Oscar Wilde**

CHAPTER 12; Explanations

* * *

Explanations were hard to achieve when seven different people were trying to shout over each other. They were made especially difficult when your level of patience falls into the negatives.

"But then—"

Jedrek interrupted. "It was your idea!"

"I can't believe you're placing the blame on me."

"If the leash fits…"

"Jed, that wasn't even grimace worthy."

"Shut-up!"

"Hey, guys, you aren't actually explaining _what_ happened," Lita pointed out, artfully evading Neron's eyes.

"What I'd like to know," Kael interjected, "is why none of you are surprised by all of this."

"It does appear to be more complicated than even I anticipated," Zevin agreed.

"Well—" Jedrek began.

Rei slammed a fist down on the floor, where everyone was situated. "Enough!" she demanded. "This is completely disordered. I don't have enough time to sit here and try to piece together your incoherent babbling! One person at a time. Kael, since it was your uncle that was crazy, you start."

Jedrek looked like he wanted to protest (a.k.a. whine) about Kael going first, but one look from Rei forever silenced the issue.

"Well," Kael began, "first, I am CEO of Winter Writes, the largest publishing company in the world. One of the main duties of my job is to oversee where the corporate money is being spent and assure that is it a worthy cause. There have been a number of recent research projects that I sponsor and donate to. Zevin works at one of the larger centers that receives a donation," he paused.

Zevin jumped in, eager to share his work. "My main focus is on fighting viral diseases and curing modern-day epidemics. Before we had disappeared, my staff and I had a breakthrough that could literally save millions of lives…"

"He contacted me immediately and we quickly had to come to a conclusion. What we had to consider," Kael continued, "was, unfortunately, not only the lives we'd be saving. In the business world, you have political alliances to consider before launching a new product, or idea. In this case, we needed to consult with all the pharmaceutical companies we had relations with. Also, the cure had yet to be _officially_ tested on humans and needed the International Department of Drug's approval, which could take months, or even years. Health laws, third-world countries, the effect on the economy; all these factors needed to be taken into consideration. So, we decided to have a private meeting between my company, our partners, and a few of the higher-ups. We went under the prevarication of a vacation to Lake Side Rivera…"

Jed couldn't keep his mouth closed any longer. "Actually," he burst in, "you're forgetting the fact that you have a strange obsession with hunting poor, defenseless animals. I cannot believe how callous you were the entire year uha bah bah." Rei firmly placed a hand over his mouth, nodding for Kael to finish his story.

Zevin leaned over to whisper softly in Ami's ear, "Jed's a vegetarian. He is always getting in a huff about animal's rights. It's funny, really, because you'd think he's the least likely one to care."

Ami ignored the tingling in her neck, and nodded in understanding. How interesting. Rei, too, refused to eat the flesh of any animal.

Ami banished those thoughts and turned her attention back to the speaker.

"The talks weren't going well, so we had decided to dismiss the session early and just do what was morally correct and quit worrying about the political ramifications. It was the last night of our stay when a woman appeared out of, literally, thin air. We were all stunned. After that, she explained a few things but it has become fuzzy in my memory. The most vivid thing she said to us was: _one year is your punishment._ All I recall after that is blackness and then intense feeling from all my senses. The first month was confusing; we wandered around the countryside for a while, hid in the back of trucks on occasion, and eventually made it to the suburbs of Tokyo. After that, we mainly kept together. Zevin found that, with certain noises, we were able to communicate. The rest of the time was certainly a learning experience about the rest of the world…" Kael trailed off, then: "I didn't realize how many sick and destitute people there were. It just makes me more determined…but anyway, we got caught last month by the humane society. Last week, you, Mina, took us away," he finished, unbidden memories of the past week flashing through his mind. It seemed to have gone by so fast and, while he'd never admit it aloud, he missed some of the natural craziness of living with Mina.

Catching her queue, Mina folded her hands delicately on her lap and began her reiteration. "As the girls know, my parents have been pestering—cough blackmailing cough—me to employ some sort of protection since I've been living alone. Despite my passionate aversion to such ideas, I gave in to their pitiful attempts at trying to control my uncontrollable-ness. I went to the humane society, saw four adorable pups that I just couldn't overlook, and took you all home for my fantastic friends! I'm sort of an impulse buyer, you know?"

"Stop regressing," Lita chided, shifting her legs so they were stretched out in front of her. She leaned back on her hands and tried to inconspicuously look at the man seated next to her. He was already staring. Lita hastily moved her eyes back to Mina, and _pretended_ to listen attentively (which is what most people did when Mina talked, if only to preserve their sanity).

"Anyway, y'all know what I did with you from there. Kael came with moi and we had a fabulous time, right JB?" Mina's eyes' twinkled merrily and something deep inside her resounded with laughter. Yes, yes, they'd had a fine time.

"You girls were ridiculous with your naming game," Jed dramatically sighed and turned to Rei. "Honestly, woman! Daisy? What kind of name, for any living creature, is that? And JB? What does that stand for? Jail bait? Wait a second—how old are you girls anyway?"

"Please focus," Ami softly pleaded from her seat in the corner. She was impressed at how much they had gone through so far, with limited questions and comments, and hoped to keep the explanations flowing. Usually it was impossible to get anything said or clarified without numerous interruptions and playful banter. It seemed as if the people in the room worked well together. _Interesting_, Ami thought.

"We're eighteen," Serena imparted.

"Thank you o' lord," Zevin muttered, feeling glad that at least he wouldn't have a legal problem with pursuing Little Miss Meek in the Corner. "Now, back to business."

"Right. So we hang out, get attached, blah blah blah, I get attacked, yada yada, same old routine, shit hits the fan with the villains. You guys somehow are transformed back, which Darien would do well to explain, no?"

"Freeze a second please. Back up to that part where you get attacked. Just one question: _what_?" Jed adopted a rather unattractive gaping face that Rei set right with a firm flick to the chin. He grinned at her, grabbed her finger, and gave it a gentle kiss that left the priestess struggling against a blush.

"Oh, that," Mina laughed nervously. "It was nothing."

"It was actually quite something," Kael contradicted calmly. "You fought with a great amount of practiced skill and restraint. All of you girls have. We have all been slightly skirting around the issue but I am very curious. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Defense lessons."

"The streets."

"Lita."

"Gym class."

"I can't remember."

Rei, Serena, Ami, Lita, and Mina all respectively answered at once.

"That's believable," Neron said with mock seriousness. He was smirking at Lita, who got the message loud and clear: I know what you did and I'm just waiting for the right time to bring it up.

"I think you should tell them," Darien spoke, for the first time in a long round, eyeing only the females of the room. "There is something strange going on with them, and I think it's related to you-know-what."

"Voldemort?" Lita weakly joked.

Darien fixed her with a princely look. "Serena told me about the Fire incident that Rei had the other day. Who is to say that they weren't a part of our past?"

"Excuse me for interrupting," Zevin said, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, "but what past? Does this have something to do with your power to change us back into our homo erectus form?"

Mina giggled. "That sounds so dirty," she whispered to Kael, clutching at his sleeve.

"Grow-up!" Rei snapped with the familiarity of having said it a thousand squared times.

Darien ignored them, also with practiced familiarity of quite a few times. "Yes, it does," he glanced around pointedly at the others. His gaze was asking them for their input on telling the men the story.

Serena took the initiative, supporting her husband's decision. "I say yes," she looked to Ami next.

Weighing the pro's and con's in her head took a moment but she finally reached a decision. "Yes," she nodded.

Lita shrugged. "Ditto."

"Alright," Mina agreed.

They all looked to Rei. "Why are we making this such a farce of a democracy?" she complained. "It's not like my voice will make a difference at this point."

"That would be a 'yes' in Rei lingo," Mina winked.

Lita took a deep breath. "Who wants to tell it?"

When no one immediately volunteered, Lita grumbled a bit and started. "A freakin' long time ago, there was life on more than just Earth…"

* * *

"That story sucked," Jed commented when Lita had finished. 

"Way to dampen the mood," Neron added.

Kael shook his head. "You two are idiots," he muttered. "That was apparently not a story, you dunderheads."

Zevin was shocked. "That irrevocably changes the course of technology and science. To have had such an advanced society only a thousand years ago! There must be remnants, buried books, or something that we can find and replicate. The possibilities are astounding…"

Ami nearly jumped out of her seat in shared excitement. "I know!" she exclaimed. "I've frequently thought of that, too. According to my memories, we had so much more advanced medicine. Combining it with modern science would create an entirely new definition of progress."

"I don't know how you can keep the conversation going," Neron shook his head, "I'm still stuck on the fact that you fight the forces of evil on a regular basis wearing mini-skirts! Damn, but I wish I could thank the designer of those suits." His comment was thanked by several enthusiastic fists.

"Ow," he whined.

"Getting back on track," Darien tightened his arm around his blonde wife, "I think my being the King of Earth was paramount in my ability to undo the curse, or whatever you'd call it. Zevin was somehow able to shift on his own accord, any guesses?"

The man in question was a particularly fetching shade of pink. "I've formulated a few theories."

"And?" Darien probed.

"They're still theories!" Zevin snapped defensively. 'I'll get back to you when I know for certain."

Ami was racing through the possibilities in her mind, fitting puzzle pieces together, and when one fit when no others were found, she blushed. No one except Zevin noticed, and he groaned and muttered about the unfairness of life if any of the guys ever found out.

_I wonder if the power of a kiss has any scientific meaning behind it_, Ami mused.

"In any case, I was able to concentrate and force their bodies to reallocate, after which we met you at the Simmons Building," at this he glared at the dominant partner in their relationship, "and had the privilege of leaving with you."

"No need to be sarcastic, dear."

"So that's how you were able to 'catch' that bullet? With superpowers?" Neron directed at Lita, winking playfully at the brunette.

"I didn't exactly catch it," Lita hedged. "I was able to bend the electrons in the air and force them to, kind of, build a wall of electricity. They slowed the bullet down enough that it only caused a small cut, hey!" Neron had grabbed her hand and was examining it thoroughly.

"No cut," he stated.

"We heal really, really fast," Lita explained. "That's why I caught the bullet. I could easily shake it off, no worries."

"I owe you my life," he said seriously.

"No, no," the brunette countered, "not necessary."

"Forever," he promised softly.

And what could one reply to that?

"I'm opening the floor to questions," Mina used her announcing voice, which was more of a shriek than anything else.

"I swear," Rei swore, "she is the _most_ annoying person to ever exist."

"I second that," Lita agreed.

"Third," Serena raised a hand.

"All in favor?" Rei asked.

"Aye."

"Yeah."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Passed," Rei said with satisfaction.

"Hey, what were we 'aye-ing' about?" Mina wanted to know.

"Nothing," everyone replied.

"So, questions…did you know Callie Zikomo? How was she involved? And the librarian?" Serena was, remarkably, right on track.

Kael paled, an impressive feat with his already light-toned skin. "Callie was my secretary and kept a number of extremely important papers for me. I had only been working at the company for eleven months as CEO and most of the old staff was wary of someone so young taking over. She was the only person I completely trusted. What did the bastard do to her?"

"She was shot on Monday night but she's in stable condition right now, albeit in a coma. The police were waiting for her to wake up so they could talk to her," Ami gently replied, setting the fair man at ease.

"I'm not sure about the librarian," Kael went on.

Zevin raised a hand. "That would be my insurance," he announced.

At the confused glances, he continued, "I thought something might happen, so I constructed a back-up. All my work, at least all the key components, was given to the librarian. It worked, correct?" he directed to Ami.

Ami swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She had checked earlier in the day and…"She died, last night, from complications because of her age." She had never felt another's pain as keenly as the moment Zevin's face fell into a telling mixture of shock, guilt, and sadness.

The bluenette could read his face, which was full of self-directed blame. She did her best to adopt a detached expression, one that her medical school training was working to develop, and clinically told him: "You couldn't have predicted this outcome. Mashi Winters was an evil man and someone was inevitably going to get in the way. It is horrible that the librarian suffered this fate, but you cannot settle yourself with the blame. You did all that you could to protect your research —something that is able to help millions of people. All you can do now is finish that work and honor her death by making that evil man serve justice." Her facial muscles may have been schooled but she was fervently hoping he believed her.

"Yes," was all he said, still not absolving his conscience of the sin.

The mood was now somber. Zevin was brooding, while Ami stole glances at him. Serena and Darien were having an eye-to-eye conversation, as Rei was muttering choice words to Mina about her silliness. The remaining men were deep in thought.

Lita was silently trying to remember what she had wanted to say…something important…that Winters had boasted…

Setsuna!

"Pluto!" she burst out, now flooded once more with curiosities and inconsistencies.

Neron was puzzled. "Well, it used to be a planet, but isn't considered so any longer."

"No," Lita felt like giggling, of all inappropriate things, "Pluto is a she."

"What about her?" Serena interjected, sensing the importance of the exclamation.

"She did this to them!" Lita attempted to articulate, waving her arms. "Turned them into dogs!"

The announcement swung all the heads in the room her way.

"What?!" Rei screeched.

"Are you positive?" asked a gob smacked Ami.

"How do you know?" Serena posed, dumbfounded.

Mina was speechless and Darien swore. The others were, again, out of the loop. But, having learned from the past couple hours of explanations, if they waited for everyone to get their surprise out of the way, they would reveal all in due time.

"Let me explain," Lita yelled over the girl's voices. When they quieted down sufficiently, she said: "When I was in Mr. Dawson's office, trying to convince him to keep his half of the Riverside Bistro…"

"Wait!" Neron interrupted. "What about Dawson? Oh shit," he imprecated in realization, "Monique wanted the restaurants, didn't she? She would have received my half of the business but still needed Dawson's agreement on any changes. Easier to just buy the entire damn thing."

At all the confused countenances (boy, were they all getting used to that facial contortion) he quickly clarified. "Dawson was my partner in the business and Monique is my half-sister."

"You're Neron _Cole_? _The Neron Cole of the three fanciest restaurants in Tokyo?!_" the tall brunette woman squeaked in astonishment.

"I am," he said in amusement.

"But—but I kissed you! I work at the Riverside Bistro. That means...I made-out with my boss! No, worse," she added miserably, "the boss of my boss, times two."

Neron tried to be sensitive, really he did, but the bellow of laughter escaping was unstoppable.

Serena delicately prodded her friend. "Well," she poked, "get on with it. How is Setsuna involved?"

Lita squashed her current train of thoughts (which were driving straight into the realm of Neron's lips—stupid, stupid associations!) and took a deep breath. "Right. I was in Dawson's office and Winters was spewing drivel like all dumb villains do. I asked him the how of his plans and he stupidly explained the intricate workings, including who he hired to 'assassinate' you four. It was her name he told me."

Serena grasped her husband's hand in worry. "I don't know what to think about that," she said, "but it's obvious to me that there must be an explanation. Setsuna is loyal to us."

"You don't need to convince me of that," Lita huffed, "we fought along side the woman many times. I think we'd know."

"If she is like you," Jedrek drawled slowly, "then the whole appearing out of thin air thing is plausible, right?"

Because he was looking at Rei, she nodded in answer.

"She said it was a punishment," Kael voiced suddenly. "But what could she possibly have to punish us over?"

Serena looked troubled. "I don't have the foggiest."

"Do anything bad in a past life?" Mina joked.

Darien's head snapped up and he expelled a gasp. "Of course…but, how...that's why I was able to help them…no, no, that doesn't make sense…"

"_You're_ not making sense," Mina pointed out.

Rei, too, was having some sort of epiphany. "They are Old Souls," she verbally reasoned, "which could stand to indicate a history with—"

"Us," Ami finished, having made the connection herself.

"And if Sets was punishing them about an action that happened during the Millennium, it narrows it down," said Rei.

"You could turn them back," Serena reminded Darien, having the clips of dialogue begin to arrange themselves in her mind.

"So it involves Darien, read: Earth," Rei continued, "and is important enough that Sets still wants revenge, after all this time…"

"No," Lita breathed in sudden understanding.

"What?" Jed asked in irritation, "could we possibly have done?"

Zevin shrugged. "Can't think of anything."

Neron tilted his head towards Lita in askance but she was rapidly turning whiter than a newly bought sheet.

"He has a sister!" she exploded in unspoken protest. "And Kael has an uncle who clearly spoke of his childhood, and parents, and this isn't even possible."

Ami opened her mouth with a theory but Serena raised a hand, and they all fell silent. "Let's not make assumptions," she reasoned. "There is not use in freaking out when we don't know if what we think I true or not."

Darien rubbed his head, observing the men who seemed to naturally fit with the group. He couldn't help but think of how nice it would be to have some male company to balance out the influx of so much estrogen.

"I know one way to get our answers," Rei stood with jerky motions. She threw her head back, and let out a stream of words in a very, very old language.

"I swear she just does that for show," Mina grumbled to Kael. "She is such a drama queen." Kael couldn't help but think this was a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Rei kept the rapid flow of words going for an endless minute before the others could clearly feel a change in the air. Warmth and static prickled their necks until, abruptly, Rei stopped.

Mina was impatient. "And?"

She was answered by the arrival of an imposing, black/green-haired woman. Like Kael had said, it seemed like she had emerged through thin air. She held her body tensely, appearing to anticipate a battle.

All the girls stood at once, Serena throwing her small body at the newest advent to hug her. Setsuna, Keeper of Time, the watcher of Pluto, relaxed under her liege's onslaught. "I don't know what is going on," Serena whispered in her ear, "but I trust you. Even if I won't agree with what you did, we've been through enough together for me to believe in your sincerity."

Setsuna didn't let her face show how much those words meant to her. She had planned on intervening a few hours ago, when the talking had began, but a small problem with the river had stolen her attention for a few vital seconds. It always fascinated Setsuna how the river could speed up or slow down at varying moments. She wondered, at times, if she actually affected events or if she was just a tool of Fate in that instance. When Rei had called, she had immediately realized the river had chosen then to go faster, and now it was time, as the saying went, to face the music.

Through the entire process, she had inwardly fretted about the reactions of the girls. She knew what she was doing was unethical and could have been worked out a year ago, when her attention had initially been cast to the situation. But she couldn't resist the temptation to try and keep the men away. All the evidence she needed could be cited of what had happened a thousand human years ago, and how they contributed to the downfall of her life. To her, it felt like a scant month ago. And maybe it was.

"Hello," Setsuna simply stated. She was a believer in observation before action

Serena stationed herself protectively by her side, and the other girls formed a semi-circle around her. All of them were brimming with queries.

Kael caught sight of Setsuna. "You," he spat icily, visually identifying the woman. "Yes, this is her."

Kael was clearly angry, as was Jedrek. Neron had his brows raised, waiting. Zevin was expressionless, reserving judgment. Not that Setsuna, or any of the others, owed _them_ anything.

"What's going on?" Lita asked, with no accusations.

Rei didn't waste time asking questions. "Is it them?" she put forth. "Were they, are they, the Generals?"

Setsuna didn't hesitate, even though she was slightly impressed that they had drawn that correct conclusion on such limited knowledge. "Yes."

An eruption of outrage was the expected reaction Setsuna was looking forward too. Instead, they all remained silent. It was a sign of their maturity since it had all began.

"That explains nothing," Lita said flatly when no one else did.

_Time for the hard part_, Setsuna realized, as they had stared expectantly at her. "I admit," she said finally, "that I might have interfered more than necessary. Yes, it is true that these men are the reincarnated souls of the Terra Generals of the Silver Millennium."

"_Pardon_?" Zevin exclaimed.

Setsuna ignored him. "I was instructed to get involved when Mr. Winters called for an assassin. However, I freely confess my personal choice to change them into canines, as a lesson of sorts."

"A lesson!" Kael exploded in righteous fury. "We lost a year of our lives! And two people, maybe more, lost their entire lives."

"Let me get this straight," Jed sardonically intoned, "you felt the need to avenge a mistake we made a _thousand years ago_?"

"A mistake?" Setsuna rose to her full height, shaking with emotion. "You caused the ruin of an entire civilization! The downfall of the greatest era ever known! Because of your weak wills, billions of people died. A mistake is the largest understatement I've ever heard."

All the men, including Darien, seemed ready to disagree quite vocally.

Rei quickly interposed, "Are these the same men we fought a few years ago?" It was a very important question and distinction.

"Fought?" Zevin mouthed to Darien, who lipped back that he would tell him later.

Setsuna shook her head. "No, they aren't. Those were merely creations made in the image of them. These gentlemen," she sneered the words, making them an insult, "are solely the reincarnated Generals from the Silver Millennium."

A collective breath was expelled, and the girls held a quiet exchange of glances. Serena took Setsuna's hand in support but was giving her a disappointed stare. "This is a lot to take in," she sighed. "Why didn't you come to us?" She felt hurt.

"I was trying to protect you," Setsuna said in frustration, willing them to see that what she did was for their own good.

"We are not children," Lita snapped, control on her temper rapidly waning.

"You had no right," Mina agreed.

Serena saw the betrayal on her friends' faces and acted fast. "I think it would be best you left us to talk. We will summon you in a while. But, please, try to think about this situation as objectively as you can. How fair it is to punish, in essence, the son for the sins of his father?"

Setsuna nodded stiffly. "Fine," she emotionlessly toned, stepping forward and twirling in place. She was gone in the blink of an eye.

"I need a drink," Jed tiredly spoke. "This is all so crazy."

"I don't know what to say," Rei spoke, astounded at the audacity Pluto had shown. How unfair it was.

"Not your fault," Jed murmured softly, moving to stand next to the girl and wrap an arm around her.

If anyone found it strange that she didn't protest, they didn't say so.

"Are you all right, honey?" Serena touched a hand Darien's face. His forehead was scrunched up in unmistakable aggravation.

"I should have known," he told her tightly.

"No," his wife spoke, "we are not going to play that game. You know how ridiculous that sounds? We are all different people now, with different circumstances, and entirely different futures. And we have yet to touch the surface of our past memories. So, no, you shouldn't have known."

Darien gave her a half-hearted smile. "When did you get to be so wise?"

"Didn't you know," she airily waved, "I'm the Queen of the Universe."

Darien laughed, for the statement was probably the truest definition of the amazing woman before him.

"Here is what I think we should do," Serena commanded the attention of the room. "A lot has happened today—a bit of an understatement—and there is still a lot to do. You four," she pointed to the men, "have to reestablish your identities and all that jazz. You have family to go back to and business to attend. Think of a plausible explanation for everything that has happened and go take a nap. Trust me, you'll probably need it."

Ami nodded, smiling proudly at the way her Princess had thought the details through. She had come a long way from the teenager Ami had first met. A long, tedious way.

"You can still at our place," Serena added, "if you'd like."

Kael nodded, knowing how much he'd been be in demand once he went back to the office. There was so much to do…

"Neron can stay with me," Lita blurted, making the others blink in surprise. "You don't have that much room," she hurriedly explained, trying to tame the deep blush on her cheeks.

Darien attempted to correct her but Serena poked him hard in the side. "Good idea," she smiled. "But I think it best they stay together. There is a lot to discuss."

"Oh," Lita frowned, hiding her disappointment poorly. "True."

Neron couldn't quite hide the enormous grin on his face. "Rain check?" he winked.

Lita reddened.

Serena pushed Darien towards the door. "Take them," she ordered.

For such a powerful man, and such a small, unimposing woman, Darien was fast to do his her bidding.

"We will talk," Zevin promised Ami on his way out, staring at her with an endearing half-smile.

Mina took the initiative and gave the stiff Kael a hug. "I'm so sorry, about everything."

"Don't be," he said softly. "It led me to you, didn't it?" and he departed, leaving a drooling Mina behind.

Rei, who had heard the romantic nonsense, slapped the blonde cliché on the arm. "That is seriously disgusting. Do those lines work on you, Mina?"

Drool drool drool.

"Figures," she rolled her eyes.

The other guys said something equally heart-wrenching (and vomit inducing), except Jed, who left without a word. Although Rei was happy she didn't have to do him any physical violence, a part of her was slightly irritated. She didn't let herself think too much on _why_ she felt so irritated.

When they had all left and were completely out of sight, Serena turned to them with a knowing smirk.

"Time to talk!" she squealed.

They eagerly, and familiarly, clambered down in a tight-knit circle and began to all talk at the same time.

* * *

**End Note: **I did the best I could to give each character a chance to talk and shine, without confusing everyone else. It is so hard to keep track of that many people! And they were all so vocal in their opinions and side comments, that I was practically forced to digress from the explanations every other second. Luckily, like Ami commented, they truly work well together, and compliment their opposites. 

Anyway, there are a couple of reviewers I would like to thank:

**Dazja (drm20341?): **Your enthusiasm really boosted me to finish this chapter. I hope it lives up to your expectations! Thanks for the wonderful review. It seriously made my day:-)

**ooSuperBatGirloo**: I also hate when Serena is portrayed as a compliant twit. She is going to be Queen of the World, I sincerely hope she has a backbone. Thanks for sticking with the story.

**Shadowglen**: Your review made me laugh! I didn't even realize until then how the summary could be construed to mean dogs with humans…ew, bad mental images. Yeah, there are so many really weird HP fanfiction out there. And, I am desperately trying to bring as much humor as possible to the story, but there is so much drama drama drama waiting to befall the guys. Haha.

**ZOey89**: I'm guilty of what so many other authors are: long periods between updates. An incomplete story is the worst kind; I'll try harder from now on, promise. Thanks for the review!

And, to all the others: THANKS! There are no words to explain how happy an author feels when she/he gets a review. If you have any questions, comments, random words of wisdom, or plot ideas for future stories, don't hesitate to tell me!


	13. Chapter 13

**One Final Author's Note: **Welcome to the end of my long, twisted journey. I have grown-up so much since I first began writing this story. It took over two years, but here it is. Thank you to everyone who stuck with the tale; you're the ones I do it for! 

**One Last Summary: **Four heirs to vast fortunes disappear under mysterious circumstances. A year later, Mina Aino impulsively adopts four dogs, giving one to each of her single friends. After, each girl faces threats, mayhem, and drama while the mystery of the dogs unravels before them. SenGen, S/D

* * *

"_**This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.**_**"**

** --Winston Churchill**

CHAPTER 13; Without Further Ado

* * *

A lot had to be organized before the four men could reappear. Kael had an entire company to takeover and adjust. Neron, too, had business responsibilities he had to claim from his sister; a visit to several of his lawyers was eminent. Zevin collected his research and nearly cried once reaching his laboratory, where he stayed for a long, long time. Jedrek had to deal with his overly enthusiastic family, who all wanted to talk to him about the worry he'd caused them. On top of that, they each had to do all the necessary paperwork that went along with, essentially, rising from the dead. 

A week had passed before Ami, Lita, Rei, or Mina heard from the rediscovered men. In that time, they had held a private meeting with Setsuna about her actions, leaving them no more satisfied then before.

"I am not sorry for what I did. Perhaps I should have requested your input, but none of you can think clearly concerning the Generals," Pluto said tightly, resting her body against the wall while the others sat at Lita's kitchen table. 

"And you can?" Ami softly returned. 

Setsuna sighed. "Maybe not," she admitted, "but my bias is a little more encompassing of the entire picture than yours. These men, once upon a time, betrayed you in every way a person possibly can."

"They were brainwashed," Lita said flatly, pointing out: "Darien was seduced by that same power and we don't blame him for it." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Except it didn't work fully. He didn't kill the Princess, did he?" Setsuna retorted heatedly. Her tone was one that no one had heard before, showing the amount of pain and sorrow the Senshi of Time still felt. Not that any of the girls could blame her. There was still so much they didn't remember and, quite honestly, didn't want to.

"But it wasn't them, the men who killed us in the Silver Millennium," Lita argued. "Beryl took their souls and left their bodies as vessels to her evil will. Isn't that punishment enough?"

Setsuna's face remained stony. "No. Nothing will ever be punishment enough."

"So, if Mina hadn't found them, you would have kept them away from us?" Lita asked.

"Yes," she answered, seeing no reason to lie now. 

Lita thought of several rude things to say, but swallowed it, realizing her feelings on the matter were, as Pluto said, biased.

"Are you going to continue to seek vengeance?" Ami questioned after a pause, having just worked up the courage to ask the cool query. 

"It is not my place now." 

Rei suddenly spoke. "I may not agree with you, Sets, but I understand. You did what you thought was right at the time. And it seems that everything has worked out," she said, her voice holding an air of finality. 

"Fate and Destiny are powerful things," the Time Keeper sighed, "and even I cannot change them."

"What do you mean?" Mina wanted to know, yet the question was almost rhetorical, for she was almost sure of the answer.

Setsuna ignored her. "Thank you for your understanding, Rei. I can see the others are not ready to follow these sentiments. If you girls have any more troubles, you know how to reach me."

"Wait!" Mina yelled, but it was too late, for Setsuna had left with an on-the-spot whirl. 

Lita leaned one elbow on the table, using it to rest her head. "She has issues."

Rei rolled her eyes. "We all do. But if you had the additional duty of watching everything go wrong in your loved one's life, and not being able to help, you'd be screwed up too. Just be grateful she spared your boyfriend's life."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Lita protested, sitting straight in her seat and rapidly turning red.

"So you make it a habit of locking lips with random men?" Mina teased, giggling madly. 

"Leave me alone," the brunette pouted. 

Ami attempted to steer the conversation back to point. "I, also, see her view," she admitted, "and actually find that it was a rather, uh, harmless way to vent her anger. She could have killed them, and we wouldn't have known differently."

Mina nodded solemnly. "Thank the lord for small flavors."

All the girls blinked at Mina.

"Favors, Mina," Ami groaningly corrected.

"Right."

"So you guys too?" the tall brunette asked the others at the table after a moment of silence.

"Us what?" Ami asked, distracted, because she was thinking of all the millions of ways Setsuna's 'plan' could have gone wrong.

"Don't make me say it," Lita begged.

Mina knew her expression of 'clueless' was perfect—she practiced in the mirror everyday before showering. "Say what?"

"I hate you, and all your deceitful faces," Lita muttered, but nonetheless said: "you, uh, like the guys?"

"I hate men!" Rei immediately declared, with the familiarity of a phrase that one recited in their sleep. "Mostly my father, but I'm open minded enough to include the all species with_ dangly genitals_."

"You," Lita pointed, in case any one was in need of clarification, "are sick. And twisted. And very, very sick."

Mina was too busy laughing hysterically to comment.

"Yes," Ami was the only one to give a response to Lita's question. "Of course I like Zevin; he's a very nice man."

Mina snorted, tears of mirth still dripping down her face. "Well, unlike our dearest Rei over here, I love dangly genitals…and the rest of the body attached to it, of course. For example," she dreamily exhaled, "Kael has quite the body…and voice…and body…"

"You're not shallow," Rei dryly remarked.

"I like him for his personality, too!" Mina retorted, defensively. "He obviously believes in a very healthy lifestyle. He eats all his meat and vegetables, and then goes to the gym for endless hours to work out and sweat and build some hunky looking muscles. That's a sign of a very good personality." 

"Shallow as a puddle," Rei sang out, dodging a clumsy swipe.

Mina stood. "I will prove you wrong!" she declared, and then flounced out of the apartment with a flare only she could achieve. 

"That wasn't very nice," Lita giggled.

Rei cackled, drumming her hands on the table. "I feel bad for poor Kael."

"I wouldn't," the brunette said and laughed again. She stood up. "I will see you girls later. I have a few errands I need to run before dark."

Ami peered out the window, nodding in agreement with the assessment. The sun was waning rapidly.

* * *

A catchy tune had lodged itself in Lita's brain and she couldn't seem to make it leave. Whistling the notes as she walked on the sidewalk, she maneuvered the streets to her place of work, intent on picking up her paycheck.

Oh, and perhaps seeing if a certain somebody was there. 

But she wasn't going to think on that.

The trip took another fifteen minutes on foot, but Lita eventually arrived at the gorgeous oak doors leading to Riverside Bistro. Normally open at the peak hour of the evening, the sign on the door read: _Closed for Evaluation_, and the young employee saw no signs of anyone else loitering around, not even any of the cleaning crew. 

Very curious.

"Carl!" Lita hollered, after bypassing the closed sign on the door. "Where is everyone? I know you're here, though. I heard you have a bed set-up in your office so you never have to leave," she continued to loudly chat, zigzagging around the tables to enter into the familiar kitchen, and into the meeting room from there. 

Upon entering the room, Carl was distinctly _not_ alone. 

Neron Cole, Monique Cole, and her fabulous manager were all sitting around a small table, discussing a rather heated matter, if looks were anything to go by. Ms. Cole was most clearly distraught, breathing unevenly, and glaring at both men in turn. Carl looked speechless about something, and Neron was coolly amused.

"Uh," she articulated when three pairs of eyes swung towards her. 

Neron showed surprise before masking it and standing. "You must be Ms. Kino," he said smoothly, as if he wasn't well-acquainted with the small dimple next to her mouth, "I've heard only great things about you." He stuck out a hand to shake. 

A full beat of unrepressed gawking was only limited to a short length by Carl, who unsubtly snapped his fingers to regain Lita's attention and nodded towards his boss' hand. 

Feeling foolish and a little grumpy at Neron's strange actions, Lita nonetheless took the proffered hand.

A tingle was from the contact was expected. Lita was now getting accustomed to the physical attraction between them. But the accompanying caress was so absolutely _unexpected_ that Lita almost flinched in reaction. 

She loosened her grip from his and glared at the mischievousness decorating his eyes.

"You suck," she whispered under her breath. The amusement behind his eyes showed he had heard her.

"Pardon?" Neron feigned confusion.

"I said, what luck! That you're back," Lita lied.

Carl then stood too, not noticing the mild bantering taking place between the pair. As far as he knew, they had just met. Monique, too, was hazy on the details and a little preoccupied with trying to get out of her situation with the least amount of damage to her status as possible. "Lita is one of our best and brightest. We're training her in the business, as you well know, and hope to have her as an asset for a very long time."

Lita blushed at the praise. 

"If you would," Carl addressed Lita, "wait outside, we should be done shortly."

Before the brunette could respond, Neron spoke. "That isn't necessary. She is every bit a part of this industry as I or you are. You can stay, if you'd like." 

She actually didn't care one way or the other; but a look at Neron's face convinced her that he wanted her to stay for some odd reason. 

"That would be fine," she replied, taking a sneakily moved seat next to Neron. 

Carl eyed the two suspiciously but dismissed any further train of thought. If it was important to the restaurant, Mr. Cole would let him know.

Neron then picked up the conversation where he had obviously left off. "And due to a deplorable exhibition of character, I feel I have no other choice than to terminate your association with this company, Monique."

"That is unacceptable, I own half the company," the dark-haired woman returned. Aside from similar hair and eyes, the two half-siblings looked nothing alike, Lita noted. 

"Not legally," Neron slide a thick collection of papers to Monique.

She took a moment to glance at them before her face crumbled into a hideous front. "I refuse to listen to this a moment longer," she declared, snatching the papers from the table and stuffing them into her purse. "I will continue this conversation after receiving advice from my lawyer." She made to leave.

"You will find," Neron said to her back, before she could leave, "that there is no lawyer in all of Japan who will be able to worm you out of this. Be lucky if this is all the retribution you receive, for you have done terrible deeds."

Monique chose not to answer, and left with a slam of the door.

"Cold-hearted bitch," Neron sighed. "I'm sorry you had to witness that," he said to Carl and Lita. "But I believe having someone to witness having this conversation with her will ultimately provide a back-up for me in case anything is disputed."

Carl only shook his head. "She had it coming!" he exclaimed with a barely concealed grin. "I'm only sorry I wasn't the one able to deliver the news. We are so glad you're back," Carl reached over to give the younger man a hearty slap on the back.

Neron laughed. "Yes, well," he checked his watch, "don't let me keep you any longer. When I said everyone had to go home, I did mean you too."

"Despite rumors to the contrary, I do have a bed at home," Carl raised a brow at Lita, who innocently whistled the tune she'd had stuck in her head on the way there. 

"Mind getting my paycheck on the way out?" Lita inquired, purposefully not looking at Neron, a venture that she seemed to be doing a lot more than not.

"I'll do it," Neron volunteered, before her manager could get a word in. "I had hoped to have a private word with Lita, anyway."

Carl, simply grateful to get the unexpected night off, patted Lita's hand on his quick way out. 

When the door closed behind the short man, Lita and Neron were motionless for all of ten seconds. Then, an explosion of noise made the progression of limbs hard to track. 

The end result made it hard to distinguish one person from the other. 

It was a full ten minutes before: "You didn't call," Lita breathlessly accused, so close to his face a hair would be hard-pressed to slip through.

"Busy," he kissed her nose, "getting," another on the side of her mouth, a beautiful bow-shaped one at that…

The couple got a little sidetracked again.

When air became a necessity, he said: "I was busy getting everything back into place. But I was. Going to call you, that is."

"Really?" Lita tried to sound harsh, maybe even cross her arms over her chest. The latter was physically impossible, since Neron had his arms locked tightly around her body, permitting no movement. The former proved too hard to accomplish also; she was feeling such giddy happiness that negativity was beyond her.

"I swear," he grinned. "You see," he traced a finger over the shape of her shoulder blade, causing her to lose concentration with a gasp, "I need a favor." 

"Oh?" she managed.

He signed in feigned melancholy. "The apartment I leased was given away a few months after my disappearance. The building has a rather long waiting list, and I don't have any secret desire for living on the streets. It would appear that I'm on the market for a new place of residency."

A secret smile began to stretch across Lita's face. "That is unfortunate."

Neron nodded in agreement. "Very. Not sure what to do."

Resting her head on his broad shoulder, she said in a sultry whisper, "I may have an idea."

* * *

The elevator was evil. Mina was sure of it. She had been staring at the dial for ten seconds already, and it had only moved two floors! That was a ridiculous ratio. Climbing thirty-two flights of stairs would be faster than waiting for the wretched, evil elevator to finish its ascent.

The horribly-slow-box-of-movement finally opened its flaps and Mina rushed out, taking a left, then making a 180 degree spin in the opposite direction, before deciding to follow the helpful arrows in a third direction. 

_Kael Winters, Chief Executive Officer, Room 3110, _it read, with a lustrous shine that bellied its relative newness.

Seven…

Why was she here again? 

Eight.

Oh, yes, to prove Rei and her insipid comments wrong! She was the Goddess of Love, and not shallow at all.

Nine…

Maybe a little shallow but it was okay if it's your soulmate. They were like the exemption to everything. But even so. Superficiality was tolerable as a vapid front but no deeper. 

It was a question of honor. After all they had been through; Mina had liked JB before ever seeing his rather sexy human shell.

Ten.

But she did not wish to dwell any longer on mundane practices such as thinking when actions could be taken. She cautiously tapped on the door, and when she heard a grunt of acknowledgement, she burst through with aplomb.

"Hello, darling," she cheerfully drawled. "How is your day going?"

The question was, in hindsight, rather rhetorical. Kael was slumped over his desk, squinting at some paperwork that was one in an enormous stack. He had dark circles under his eyes, and a trail of take-away bags littered the floor around him. Mina rolled her eyes, wondering how many days he'd been sitting there. Why, he probably hadn't even been to the gym to work on his physique. How could he hope to keep it perfect if all he ever did was paperwork? 

"Mina?" he was only a bit startled, mostly due to the concentration he was giving the dead trees in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

She waved a hand airily. "The better question is, what are you _still_ doing here?" She turned critical eyes around the room. "I would guess you haven't left that spot for anything other than nature in about, oh, three days?"

"Four," he corrected wearily.

She winced. "This is worst than I thought," she muttered to herself and began to clean up a bit of the mess around the office. 

The glassiness around Kael's eyes lifted to one of alarm. "Mina, you really don't have to—"

"Don't be silly," she scolded, picking another bag up by the wrong side, causing the half-eaten contents to fall and spread themselves out even more messily than originally. But the blonde didn't take notice; her attention was already on the next bag where a similar event occurred.

Kael thought fast. "If you do that Mina, then there will be nothing left for the janitors to do."

Mina paused, considering. "True. And then they would get lazy and possibly slack on the other offices which would lead to their eventual termination. And maybe they are supporting a family of three and the poor children would go without food, causing the janitor to despair of his—or her!—duty in life. And—" she would've continued with the tragedy but a large hand was covering her means of speech.

"Exactly correct," Kael loomed over her, in an almost intimidating manner, if not for the stain on his shirt, or unhooked belt. "Now why are you here?"

Mina glared at him and jabbed a finger towards the hand covering her mouth. 

"Fine," he conceded, "but no more monolithic tales."

"I'm here," she huffed once he had removed the offending appendage, "to ask you on a date." 

Mina had the satisfaction of seeing him completely shocked. If she thought about it, she had this effect on him quite often.

"Why?" he suspiciously asked after regaining his bearing. It was becoming easier with practice.

"Well it all began—" Mina almost launched into the story about Rei's comments and the unfairness of them, but saw his hand itching at his side and reconsidered. "That is, I want to get to know you better. Personality-wise," she elucidated.

"Right," a slow smirk was stretching across his face. "Is this exclusive to my personality?" 

Mina bulked. "Heavens no!" she burst.

"Then I accept your date. How about tonight? I still have a few things I need to finish," he motioned towards the overwhelmed desk.

"Uh no. You have been here four days. I really must be firm on this point. I want my date now."

"Now?"

"Now."

"I don't…"

But Kael was already being pulled out the door by his little whirlwind, who was chattering nonsense about some evil elevator (what?), her likes and dislikes, his cute actions as a dog, and other generalities that he could definitely get use to.

* * *

The phone was insistent on being picked up. Rei was sure it had been ringing for at least ten minutes if not more. But after the events of the previous week, all she wanted to do was keep in the stasis of a colorful dreamland. She rolled over in her bed and resolved sleepily to ignore the phone.

Five minutes later, it continued its marathon. 

Rei stubbornly refused to move, despite the annoyance. 

She tuned it out with thoughts of a question that had been circulating through her mind. Did she like Jedrek? What kind of question was that? Of course she didn't like him. She hated men. But did he count as a man, since he had been a dog to her first? _Wow, that entire thought sounded so completely wrong. _

_Yes_, Rei decided after some logical reasoning, _since he was a dog first, and a man second, I am allowed to not hate him, maybe even like him a little bit. _

The ringing had finally died done and all was silent enough for Rei to drift back into a half-sleep while debating the morals of her decision.

Then a loud banging startled the priestess straight out of bed and over the side.

"AH!" she shrieked, hitting a pitch that only mythological banshees were believed to have achieved. 

"Thanks for inviting me in," the dog man of her mind stepped into existence, with a radiant smile. If Rei weren't a man-hating, banshee-sounding, extra-hyphenated reincarnated princess, she might, if she were about to die, have melted at that smile.

But, since she was all those things, and not about to die, she merely pursed her lips sourly and glowered. "I despise you."

Jedrek's smile grew. "I missed you too, baby," he cooed. 

"Asshole."

"Gorgeous."

Rei stood up and stomped a foot in childish frustration. He was just so…so…ah! And to think she had almost deemed him all right to like. Ha! As if that was going to happen now.

For some reason though, she felt thoroughly aware that she was still dressed in pajamas, while he was immaculately clean in a rather fetching blue suit that brought out the color of his eyes.

Rei attempted to wait for him to state his reason of visiting so early in the morning, but he remained curiously silent, staring at her with an intensity she found uncomfortable.

"Why are you here?" she snapped out, patience gone.

"I tried calling," he said slowly, not looking away from her, "but there was no answer. I was in the neighborhood anyway, so I figured I'd stop by." That wasn't strictly true. He lived a good thirty minutes away, but he had driven down to her district, putting him in the neighborhood to see her.

Thirty measly minutes was worth the damned trip just to see the outraged expression as he all but knocked the door down. He loved waking her up. She was just too adorable for words. Not that he'd ever tell her that, of course. He valued his manhood and life. 

At that moment, she was cutely sulking. "Why?"

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something," he shrugged, like it was unimportant. He would give her thirty seconds before she cracked and asked him what.

"What!"

Twenty seconds. Ha.

He laughed, and she walked towards him with the intent of slapping the smugness off his face. He anticipated the move, however, and gathered her slight frame into his arms instead. This served the dual purpose of restraining her from harming him _and_ he got simply to experience having her close to him. 

"Let me go," she wiggled, then demanded, "and tell me why you came!"

Jedrek brought her closer, mostly to avoid a dangerous elbow, and said, "There's a party next week that my parents are throwing on my behalf," he downplayed, "and you're coming with me."

"What! For some reason, I didn't hear a question in that," she hissed, dangerously close to his ear. Jedrek wondered if she would bite him…and decided that having a bed so near was not so good.

"I wouldn't do that, sweetheart," he whispered silkily, a challenge in his words. For once, Rei didn't rise to the occasion, to Jed's disappointment. 

"Jerk," she muttered instead, pulling back for the red zone.

Jedrek straightened. "Be ready by seven, a week from today," he was about to walk out before a thought occurred to him. "I believe," he began wickedly, "that a Mr. Hino was on the invitation list."

Rei managed not to flinch. "So?" she asked flatly, wondering what he was playing at. He knew she wouldn't go if her father was. 

"Oh, my poor, sheltered girl!" he jovially clucked. "What better way to strike out a politician than to ruin his politics? His connections? His very image to the rest of society?" 

"Let's not get dramatic," Rei said sarcastically, but the idea had merit. She wasn't above a little bit of vindication.

"You could say my family is the eyes and ears you have to impress to do well in high society…and that my word has a lot of weight right now. Reappearing does have its benefits."

"So, let me get this straight. You are going to take me to this _party_," she said the word with distaste, "dressed fancy."

"We will have a marvelous time, while simultaneously trashing…"

"…my father's reputation."

"Right in one."

Rei inwardly accepted the invite. Outwardly, she saw that Jed was getting a big head by receiving her agreement so often. She couldn't let that happen. "Maybe," she sniffed. "I will have to think if I really want to spend an entire evening as your date."

Jedrek clasped his hands to his chest. "You wound me, I'm a great date," he playfully pouted. He went to the door, stepping through it and calling over his shoulder, "I guess I will have to come back tomorrow to convince you some more."

"Don't count on it," Rei bantered.

Jedrek had a shine to his eyes. "Oh, my dear, I can be _very_ persuasive," he winked in innuendo, and quickly exited before the little spit fire could clobber him.

Pursing her lips, Rei decided that this man had potential to be quite unlike anybody she had ever met before.

* * *

"Thanks for meeting me here," Zevin pulled Ami's chair out for her, waiting until she was seated before taking his own seat.

"This is a nice place," Ami commented, looking around the small café that she had never been to. 

"They have the best coffee in town," Zevin confided. 

"That is a very important attribute," she agreed.

The waiter arrived at their table with a smile and what-would-you-like. They both ordered a cup of coffee, no cream.

"Oh, you brave the unsweetened too?" 

"More satisfying that way," Ami shyly admitted.

A twisted smile graced Zevin's face. "Hm," was all he said.

Adjusting her purse suddenly brought her reason for meeting him to the front of her mind. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I have your book." She reached in her bag to retrieve the aforementioned item, slightly sad to part with the treasure. 

"Amazing, isn't it?" he asked, watching her expressive eyes light up with passion as she nodded enthusiastically. 

She was about to launch into a detail that had been nagging her about the vector for one of the diseases when Zevin carelessly waved a hand and told her: "Keep it."

A heavy crashing sounded in her head, making her jerk in surprise. "What?" she stuttered.

But Zevin wasn't paying attention, opting to look over her shoulder. "That will cost a lot," he motioned at the server who had just dropped a tray full of dishes.

"Yes," she agreed distantly, then, "why are you allowing me to keep this?"

"I have another copy," he studied his nails. 

"Right," she breathed, practically hugging the book to her chest. "Thank you, then."

"It's no problem. I've been cooped up all week with my lab partners, who are just grateful to have me back. We've pretty much re-written the entire book—with spare copies this time—and added a few new ideas I thought of during my year of missing in action," he said, their coffee arriving a second later.

"Yes, I noticed that your thoughts on the structure of…" 

They chatted about bio-chemistry and DNA for a while, eventually taking out pens and drawing diagrams on the napkins. It was two hours later, as well as several cups of coffee, before the energized pair wound down.

"That must have been an enlightening experience," Zevin said, referring to Ami's time as a lab technician in Germany.

"It was. If you ever have any questions about the genetic defects of primates, I'm the one to ask," she giggled, whether from the caffeine (which, if Ami thought about it, had never really affected her because of her alien genetics) or from intelligent delight, she wasn't sure. 

"I do have one question," Zevin leaned forward, causing Ami to subconsciously do the same. 

She waited in eager anticipation and was entirely gob smacked when he asked:

"What's your favorite kind of ice cream?"

* * *

Serena lay contentedly in her husband's arms on the couch, snuggled as close as she could get. "Do you think everything will work out?" she whispered into his chest.

Darien, who had been almost dozing peacefully, sighed in lazy resignation to having to talk things over.

"This entire business was absolutely crazy. But the girls really like the guys, even if Rei won't admit it," she continued, tracing odd shapes gently over his heart. 

"They plan to escalate contact with each respective girl, if I remember correctly," Darien admitted. Then, "Hey!" as Serena jerked up excitedly.

"Really?" she breathed, "just like that?"

"Apparently," Darien huffed, trying to drag the pretty girl back into his arms where she belonged.

"I know Ami was going to lunch with Zevin…"

"He plans to get to know her," he mumbled.

"That's so sweet!" Serena cooed. "And Lita called me this morning to tell me about her new roommate!"

"Oh, right. Ner mentioned he had found a place to stay."

"Ner?" she teased. "Getting a little friendly?"

"Yes," Darien ignored the good-natured ribbing. "In fact, we plan to go out for drinks tonight."

"Really?" his wife, and commander of all things, raised a threatening brow.

"Yes?" he cursed himself for half-asking. So much for exerting what Jedrek insisted was supposed to be his 'manly requirements.' But what did he really know? He had to deal with Rei, after all.

Serena giggled and tweaked his nose. "Have fun, then. I think I will go visit with Rei. I missed her call earlier this morning since you were so persistent in your efforts to keep me hostage in bed!"

"Sometimes, you just can't have too much of a good thing."

"It was good, wasn't it?" Serena mock boasted.

"Very," Darien made a move to start something, but Serena deftly dodged, still wanting to partake in marital discussion.

"I know I'm irresistible to you, sweetie, but listen to me for a moment please."

Darien sighed. 

"Mina stormed through Kael's office last night and…"

"…asked him on a date, I know."

The blonde pouted. "Unfair. I'm never going to be able to tell you anything, because you will already have heard it!"

"I doubt that. Guys don't talk that much."

"Will you seem to, and you only just met them, what, a week ago?" she pointed out. "But," she went on before he could get defensive and his masculinity ruffled, "it is rather adorable."

"Adorable?" 

"Like a puppy. Speaking of puppies…"

"No. We've had enough dealings with dogs for at least a few years, if not decades."

"Please?"

"I don't know how you manage to work in a request for a puppy into every conversation we have. Didn't you learn from the cats and bunnies?...Don't look so shocked, of course I know about the bunnies. I don't think that smell will _ever_ leave our bathroom."

"Oh, _come_ _on_…"

* * *

And they lived, more or less, happily ever after.

THE END

* * *

**One Very Last End Note**: I am still stunned to have finished this. I had initially broken this chapter down into smaller ones, but decided it would be nice to read them all connected like this. I know that a lot of people wanted to read some more romance but it occurred to me that this story, the action/adventure/mystery, was already solved and over. It would be a disservice to the rest of the story to extend it now. So I gave a snap-shot of everyone's life at the moment, and how it will progress. That should do it.

I'm not sure what to do now, but I've been having some strong urges for another, very different, multi-chaptered story. Maybe, at one point in time, I will do some sequels to BM but not right away. 

Thank you, everyone, for reading. I would love to answer any and all questions/comments. As always, reviews are never turned away. Happy days, folks.


End file.
